Organic Resistance

“An outstanding exploration of agricultural modernization that shows how France reconciled its past and future in the soil and how farmers themselves had the agency to shape the nation. Bivar writes engagingly, and each chapter opens with a vignette that personalizes the larger structures and reforms being tackled. These personal perspectives enliven the agricultural world and give a sense of the high stakes for ordinary people.”—French History

“Excellent . . . Well organized and well written . . . This fascinating study deserves a wide readership.”—American Historical Review

“Carefully researched, eminently readable, and highly relevant, Organic Resistance has broad significance in modern European environmental and agricultural history and adds to the growing historiography on the social and economic rebuilding of postwar France.”—Environmental History

“This readable and well-researched book. . . . Cover[s] the years between 1944 and 1980, oscillating between the extraordinary growth of export-focused industrial farming, and the early development of an organic movement that would eventually inform the turn to quality, and the environmental concerns, of more recent years. . . . Any scholar interested in that interface would be well advised to read this book.”—Agricultural History Review

“Makes an original, thought-provoking, and most welcome contribution both to historical debates about agriculture and contemporary concerns about food security.”—H-Net Reviews

“If you have ever believed that gastronomy necessarily reigned supreme in France, or if eating organic food has ever made you feel good and pure, read Organic Resistance and think again.”—H-France

“Highly readable and tightly structured. . . . Bivar’s carefully researched history traces the transformation of French agriculture that began in the immediate post-World War II period, when it was still an extremely old-fashioned remnant of a bygone era, to its current hybrid and complex form, using a range of source materials together with a provocative narrative structure.”—EuropeNow

“A novel, model analysis. . . . A stimulating book.”—Journal of Modern History

“This engaging, thoroughly researched work of history, agriculture and politics will be of broad interest to academic readers and is highly recommended for any institution with programs in history, political science, economics, environmental science, food science, or agriculture.”—CHOICE

“This is a complicated story, rich with ironies, and Bivar’s nuanced analysis and beautiful writing do it full justice. It is a magisterial account, and a pleasure to read.” — Michael Bess, Vanderbilt University