Environmental Scholar, Activist Angus Wright to Speak on Feb. 12 at SUNY Cortland

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CORTLAND, NY (02/04/2008)(readMedia)-- Angus Wright, the author of The Death of Ramon Gonzalez: The Modern Agricultural Dilemma (1990), a harrowing account of the environmental and health consequences of modern-day agricultural practices, will speak on Tuesday, Feb. 12, at SUNY Cortland.

Wright a scholar and activist on issues related to the environment, social justice and globalization, will begin his talk titled, “Environmental Justice in Agriculture: Is it Possible?” at 7:30 p.m. in Old Main Brown Auditorium. The lecture is part of the College’s yearlong series on the theme of “Earthly Matters,” organized by the College’s Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee. The series is free and open to the public.

Wright is a professor emeritus of environmental studies at California State University, Sacramento. He is a distinguished scholar and activist for issues related to environment and social justice in the age of globalization. His research which has mainly been in Brazil, California and Mexico, focuses on pesticide use and alternatives, irrigation policy, land tenure, land reform, rural social movements, rural conflict and the history of agricultural research and innovation, especially within the context of national and international economic development policy.

His first book, To Inherit the Earth: The Landless Movement and the Struggle for a New Brazil, was co-authored with Wendy Wolford and published in 2003. The book focuses on Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement, millions of desperately poor, landless, jobless men and women, who through their own nonviolent efforts have secured rights to more than 20 million acres of farmland. Wright puts the movement in its historical, political and environmental context.

Besides the two books, Wright has written more than 50 scholarly articles, reports and papers all dealing with issues related to the environment.

Wright has served as president and board member of the Pesticide Action Network of North America and the Institute for Food and Development Policy, also called Food First, and is a board member of the Land Institute. From 2005 through 2007, he has worked as a lead author on the International Agricultural Assessment of Science, Technology and Development, sponsored by the United Nations, the World Bank and the Millennium Foundation. He received degrees from the University of Kansas, Cornell University and the University of Michigan.

“Earthly Matters” is the third yearlong series of lectures and cultural events organized around a single theme at SUNY Cortland. Sponsored by the College’s Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee, the series is funded by the Offices of the President and the Provost.

For more information, contact Assistant Professor of History Kevin Sheets at (607) 753-2060.

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