{"product_id":"drug-company-next-door","title":"Drug Company Next Door","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"This fascinating and most timely critical\u003cbr\u003e\nmedical anthropology study successfully binds two still emergent areas of\u003cbr\u003e\ncontemporary anthropological research in the global world: the nature and\u003cbr\u003e\nsignificant impact of multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers on human\u003cbr\u003e\nsocial life everywhere, and the contribution of corporations to the fast-paced\u003cbr\u003e\ndegradation of our life support system, planet Earth. . . . Focusing on a\u003cbr\u003e\npharmaceutically-impacted town on the colonized island of Puerto Rico, Dietrich\u003cbr\u003e\nably demonstrates the value of ethnography carried out in small places in\u003cbr\u003e\nframing the large issues facing humanity.\"\u003cbr\u003e\n—Merrill Singer, University of Connecticut\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe production of pharmaceuticals is among the\u003cbr\u003e\nmost profitable industries on the planet. Drug companies produce chemical\u003cbr\u003e\nsubstances that can save, extend, or substantially improve the quality of human\u003cbr\u003e\nlife.However, even as the companies\u003cbr\u003e\npresent themselves publicly as health and environmental stewards, their\u003cbr\u003e\nfactories are a significant source of air and water pollution--toxic to people\u003cbr\u003e\nand the environment. In Puerto Rico, the pharmaceutical industry is the\u003cbr\u003e\nbackbone of the island’s economy: in one small town alone, there are over a\u003cbr\u003e\ndozen drug factories representing five multinationals, the highest\u003cbr\u003e\nconcentration per capita of such factories in the world. It is a place where\u003cbr\u003e\nthe enforcement of environmental regulations and the public trust they ensure\u003cbr\u003e\nare often violated in the name of economic development.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Drug Company Next Door unites the concerns of\u003cbr\u003e\ncritical medical anthropology with those of political ecology, investigating\u003cbr\u003e\nthe multi-faceted role of pharmaceutical corporations as polluters, economic\u003cbr\u003e\nproviders, and social actors. Rather\u003cbr\u003e\nthan simply demonizing the drug companies, the volume explores the dynamics\u003cbr\u003e\ninvolved in their interactions with the local community and discusses the\u003cbr\u003e\nstrategies used by both individuals and community groups to deal with the consequences\u003cbr\u003e\nof pollution.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Drug Company Next Door puts a human face on a\u003cbr\u003e\ngrowing set of problems for communities around the world. Accessible and engaging, the book encourages\u003cbr\u003e\nreaders to think critically about the role of corporations in everyday life,\u003cbr\u003e\nhealth, and culture.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"New York University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Product","offer_id":54222679179608,"sku":"9780814724996","price":88.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780814724996__67c1fa4147d10_b7e5fe58-3283-4f6f-92a5-96259020c113.jpg?v=1741160451","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/drug-company-next-door","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}