Ellen A. Ahlness, 2023. Journal for the Study of Radicalism. 17 (2), 216–218.
doi.org/10.14321/jstudradi.17.2.0216
“Texts on social movements and change frequently appeal more heavily to one sector of interested fields (e.g., political science, public policy, sociology, race and ethnic studies, or women, gender, and sexuality studies). What makes Grocery Activism particularly appealing is that the content is accessible to an interdisciplinary audience. This book is recommended to anyone seeking to expand their knowledge on food politics, or to learn more about the role of the Midwest in social movements that are often ascribed to the East and West Coasts.
“Just like their food cooperative subject matter, Grocery Activism is notable for its accessibility for audiences from established scholars to undergraduate students. Combining storytelling with deep, impacting description, Grocery Activism is a narrative that brings the Midwest into the conversation on progressive and natural socioeconomic movements.”
doi.org/10.14321/jstudradi.17.2.0216
“Texts on social movements and change frequently appeal more heavily to one sector of interested fields (e.g., political science, public policy, sociology, race and ethnic studies, or women, gender, and sexuality studies). What makes Grocery Activism particularly appealing is that the content is accessible to an interdisciplinary audience. This book is recommended to anyone seeking to expand their knowledge on food politics, or to learn more about the role of the Midwest in social movements that are often ascribed to the East and West Coasts.
“Just like their food cooperative subject matter, Grocery Activism is notable for its accessibility for audiences from established scholars to undergraduate students. Combining storytelling with deep, impacting description, Grocery Activism is a narrative that brings the Midwest into the conversation on progressive and natural socioeconomic movements.”
| ahlness_2023.pdf |
Joshua K. Chaney. 2021. Agriculture and Human Values. 38, 595–96.
doi.org/10.1007/s10460-020-10189-4
“Upright’s writing is both narrative and analytical through a pleasant combination of chronological storytelling and sociological analysis of the history of food cooperatives in Minnesota, making it simultaneously attractive to the scholar and very accessible to the layperson. . . .
“Grocery Activism: The Radical History of Food Cooperatives in Minnesota is well written and impressively maintains a highly engaging tone and narrative throughout its entirety. In addition to being entertaining, I would certainly describe the book as informative and scholarly. Upright does a great job at blending his sociological research into the book’s timeline without treading too deeply in theory or putting off readers unfamiliar with sociological methodology.”
doi.org/10.1007/s10460-020-10189-4
“Upright’s writing is both narrative and analytical through a pleasant combination of chronological storytelling and sociological analysis of the history of food cooperatives in Minnesota, making it simultaneously attractive to the scholar and very accessible to the layperson. . . .
“Grocery Activism: The Radical History of Food Cooperatives in Minnesota is well written and impressively maintains a highly engaging tone and narrative throughout its entirety. In addition to being entertaining, I would certainly describe the book as informative and scholarly. Upright does a great job at blending his sociological research into the book’s timeline without treading too deeply in theory or putting off readers unfamiliar with sociological methodology.”
| chaney_2021.pdf |
David Forrest, 2021. Political Science Quarterly. 136, 408–10.
doi.org/10.1002/polq.13181
“Numerous scholars and journalists have examined how movements respond to social injustices driven by capitalist markets. Far fewer have studied how movements sometimes constitute those markets, shaping everything from consumer behavior and supply chains to industry norms and standards. With Grocery Activism, Craig B. Upright has given us a refreshing, in- sightful, and highly readable account of how one movement exercised such a constitutive influence. . . .
“Grocery Activism has much to teach anyone interested in the politics of markets and movements in the United States. It offers a fascinating perspective on the contentious roots of the contemporary food industry, one that will engage lay and academic readers alike.”
doi.org/10.1002/polq.13181
“Numerous scholars and journalists have examined how movements respond to social injustices driven by capitalist markets. Far fewer have studied how movements sometimes constitute those markets, shaping everything from consumer behavior and supply chains to industry norms and standards. With Grocery Activism, Craig B. Upright has given us a refreshing, in- sightful, and highly readable account of how one movement exercised such a constitutive influence. . . .
“Grocery Activism has much to teach anyone interested in the politics of markets and movements in the United States. It offers a fascinating perspective on the contentious roots of the contemporary food industry, one that will engage lay and academic readers alike.”
| forrest_2021.pdf |
Michael Haedicke. 2021. Mobilization. 26 (1), 130–31.
doi.org/10.17813/1086-671X-26.1.127
“Food has become a burgeoning area for research on activism and social movements, and the field of books about organic agriculture and food production is quite crowded. However, Grocery Activism: The Radical History of Food Cooperatives in Minnesota offers a novel contribution by focusing on food cooperatives, a set of alternative retail organizations that developed in relationship with the larger organic foods and farming movement. . . .
“Overall, this book is a valuable resource for readers interested in the origins of today’s co-op stores and in the connections of organic food advocacy with other progressive political movements in the late-twentieth century.”
doi.org/10.17813/1086-671X-26.1.127
“Food has become a burgeoning area for research on activism and social movements, and the field of books about organic agriculture and food production is quite crowded. However, Grocery Activism: The Radical History of Food Cooperatives in Minnesota offers a novel contribution by focusing on food cooperatives, a set of alternative retail organizations that developed in relationship with the larger organic foods and farming movement. . . .
“Overall, this book is a valuable resource for readers interested in the origins of today’s co-op stores and in the connections of organic food advocacy with other progressive political movements in the late-twentieth century.”
| haedicke_2021.pdf |
Leah Halliday. 2020. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. 9 (4), 335–37.
doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2020.094.024
“Upright outlines how grocery co-ops were able to find, sustain, and promote a niche in the market through a symbiotic relationship with the natural and organic foods movement. Readers encounter a variety of voices from Minnesota’s rich history of food co-ops, and while some voices are notably missing, the book provides a foothold into exploring the broad environmental, social, and economic implications of the aphorism Upright notes in the text: ‘Food is power.’ . . .
“Ultimately, with Grocery Activism Upright provides a wealth of food for thought. He offers a bird’s eye view of the intersections of the organic food movement and the dramatic history of grocery cooperatives, focused on a place where many co-ops still thrive today. While his work hits the current social landscape at just a time and in just a place that may draw readers’ attention to the voices that are omitted, the text is rich in detail and insight and may serve as a springboard into further research and discussion.”
doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2020.094.024
“Upright outlines how grocery co-ops were able to find, sustain, and promote a niche in the market through a symbiotic relationship with the natural and organic foods movement. Readers encounter a variety of voices from Minnesota’s rich history of food co-ops, and while some voices are notably missing, the book provides a foothold into exploring the broad environmental, social, and economic implications of the aphorism Upright notes in the text: ‘Food is power.’ . . .
“Ultimately, with Grocery Activism Upright provides a wealth of food for thought. He offers a bird’s eye view of the intersections of the organic food movement and the dramatic history of grocery cooperatives, focused on a place where many co-ops still thrive today. While his work hits the current social landscape at just a time and in just a place that may draw readers’ attention to the voices that are omitted, the text is rich in detail and insight and may serve as a springboard into further research and discussion.”
| halliday_2020.pdf |
Ivy Ken. 2021. American Journal of Sociology. 127, 276–78.
doi.org/10.1086/714232
“The explicit anticapitalist leanings of many cooperatives serve as part of the intrigue for Craig B. Upright in Grocery Activism: The Radical History of Food Cooperatives in Minnesota. In Minnesota in the 1970s, Marxists opened storefront grocery co-ops as worker-owned social movement organizations to meet hyperlocal working-class demand for affordable food and to establish independence from mainstream capitalist stores. The co-op as an organizational form, Upright says, seemed natural in Minnesota, where the history of agricultural co-ops was long and robust. . . .
“. . . the book is a robust consideration of both the cooperative spirit and the cooperative economic form and how these propelled local-level collective action that altered the national food-related institutions that sustain us.”
doi.org/10.1086/714232
“The explicit anticapitalist leanings of many cooperatives serve as part of the intrigue for Craig B. Upright in Grocery Activism: The Radical History of Food Cooperatives in Minnesota. In Minnesota in the 1970s, Marxists opened storefront grocery co-ops as worker-owned social movement organizations to meet hyperlocal working-class demand for affordable food and to establish independence from mainstream capitalist stores. The co-op as an organizational form, Upright says, seemed natural in Minnesota, where the history of agricultural co-ops was long and robust. . . .
“. . . the book is a robust consideration of both the cooperative spirit and the cooperative economic form and how these propelled local-level collective action that altered the national food-related institutions that sustain us.”
| ken_2021.pdf |
Michael J. Lansing. 2021. Minnesota History. 67 (4), 205.
www.jstor.org/stable/26977843
“A careful study of consumer cooperation after World War II, Grocery Activism largely succeeds in addressing a longstanding lacuna in historical research on cooperative grocery stores in Minnesota. The state’s reputation for cooperative organizing and the robust persistence of grocery co-ops across Minnesota make this history especially significant . . .
“Strong prose, careful analysis, and a passion for the subject mitigate the small flaws. Ultimately, Grocery Activism is a welcome addition to the Minnesota history bookshelf. In an era defined by middle-class food obsessions, there is much to appreciate about this focused and thoughtful book. Grocery co-ops play an outsized role in the daily life of many in our state. This book shows us why.”
www.jstor.org/stable/26977843
“A careful study of consumer cooperation after World War II, Grocery Activism largely succeeds in addressing a longstanding lacuna in historical research on cooperative grocery stores in Minnesota. The state’s reputation for cooperative organizing and the robust persistence of grocery co-ops across Minnesota make this history especially significant . . .
“Strong prose, careful analysis, and a passion for the subject mitigate the small flaws. Ultimately, Grocery Activism is a welcome addition to the Minnesota history bookshelf. In an era defined by middle-class food obsessions, there is much to appreciate about this focused and thoughtful book. Grocery co-ops play an outsized role in the daily life of many in our state. This book shows us why.”
| lansing_2021.pdf |
Brandi Miller. 2021. Food, Culture, and Society. 25 (3), 624–26.
doi.org/10.1080/15528014.2021.1875776
“Craig B. Upright combines his passions for food and social justice in Grocery Activism: The Radical History of Food Cooperatives in Minnesota. Upright, a former cook, coffee shop entrepreneur, and activist, employs a narrative style to introduce the reader to the social history of the Twin Cities. Upright argues that the connection of cooperatives with organic food was not inevitable, and he walks us through the historical process of how cooperatives came to be so closely affiliated with the promotion of organic food. . . .
“Grocery Activism is an inspiring story of the establishment of democratic access to good food in places underserved by capitalist markets, both rural and urban. The strength of the book is its identification of cooperatives as providing consumers with the means to participate in social justice movements through their mundane food purchases. The playing out of the mission of cooperatives to create social change from inside capitalist markets is an irony that should not be overlooked. It declares that it is possible for a network of communities to change the market structure along with the values of consumers across the nation.”
doi.org/10.1080/15528014.2021.1875776
“Craig B. Upright combines his passions for food and social justice in Grocery Activism: The Radical History of Food Cooperatives in Minnesota. Upright, a former cook, coffee shop entrepreneur, and activist, employs a narrative style to introduce the reader to the social history of the Twin Cities. Upright argues that the connection of cooperatives with organic food was not inevitable, and he walks us through the historical process of how cooperatives came to be so closely affiliated with the promotion of organic food. . . .
“Grocery Activism is an inspiring story of the establishment of democratic access to good food in places underserved by capitalist markets, both rural and urban. The strength of the book is its identification of cooperatives as providing consumers with the means to participate in social justice movements through their mundane food purchases. The playing out of the mission of cooperatives to create social change from inside capitalist markets is an irony that should not be overlooked. It declares that it is possible for a network of communities to change the market structure along with the values of consumers across the nation.”
| miller_2021.pdf |
Paul Stock. 2021. Contemporary Sociology. 50 (5), 205, 445–46.
doi.org/10.1177/00943061211036051cc
“Firmly rooted in a sociology of organizations and economic sociology, Upright offers an important case study within the complex world of radical politics of the late 1960s and 1970s. . . .
“In many ways I think Upright accomplished what he wanted to — the book offers an interesting case study of food cooperatives in Minnesota that helps partially explain how organic foods went from practically nonexistent to the very kind of big business that cooperatives formed to avoid. Students and scholars interested in organic foods, sustainable agriculture, food studies, grocery stores, urban planning, or agri-food studies will see methodological and theoretical flaws, but this case study of food cooperatives offers a significant contribution. Students and scholars new to these fields, though, will find an important and enjoyable jumping-off point to explore the complex and emergent history of alternative food futures while looking, notably, to the past.”
doi.org/10.1177/00943061211036051cc
“Firmly rooted in a sociology of organizations and economic sociology, Upright offers an important case study within the complex world of radical politics of the late 1960s and 1970s. . . .
“In many ways I think Upright accomplished what he wanted to — the book offers an interesting case study of food cooperatives in Minnesota that helps partially explain how organic foods went from practically nonexistent to the very kind of big business that cooperatives formed to avoid. Students and scholars interested in organic foods, sustainable agriculture, food studies, grocery stores, urban planning, or agri-food studies will see methodological and theoretical flaws, but this case study of food cooperatives offers a significant contribution. Students and scholars new to these fields, though, will find an important and enjoyable jumping-off point to explore the complex and emergent history of alternative food futures while looking, notably, to the past.”
| stock_2021.pdf |
Ion Bogdan Vasi. 2021. Social Forces. 99 (4), e22.
doi.org/10.1093/sf/soaa149
“This book contributes to the productive dialogue between scholars of organizations and social movements by providing a detailed examination of the history of food cooperatives in one state. There are many memorable anecdotes and interesting pictures, and the writing style is accessible to the general public.
“. . . I believe this book will be useful not only for scholars of movements and markets but also for consumers interested in understanding the way in which what they eat shapes who they are, and vice versa.”
doi.org/10.1093/sf/soaa149
“This book contributes to the productive dialogue between scholars of organizations and social movements by providing a detailed examination of the history of food cooperatives in one state. There are many memorable anecdotes and interesting pictures, and the writing style is accessible to the general public.
“. . . I believe this book will be useful not only for scholars of movements and markets but also for consumers interested in understanding the way in which what they eat shapes who they are, and vice versa.”
| vasi_2021.pdf |