lOo SOCIAL SCir.NHST an important 'agro-industry5 in a major UDC—gocs to show, in fact, that the import of foreign capital and technology through the MNC leads to the UDC becoming more and more dependent upon economic and political forces over which it can exercise no effective control. It leads also to indiscriminate use and consequent waste of vital natural resources, accentuation of social conflicts. unfavourable terms of trade for domestic producers, increased economic instability and so on. Feder examines in this book the strawberry industry located in Mexico. He points out at the very outset: "I am not interested in the strawberry industry as such. It serves me as an example of a foreign capital—and technology—dominated agricultural sector, within a traditional, relatively primitive agriculture characterized by low productivity, low incomes, excess labour . . . and great poverty, and within a capitalistic-dependent economy" (p 12). What Feder has attempted is to study the impact of the industry "... on agricultural and non-agricultural resource use, on the people in and outside of agriculture and on policy-making by local and national government. . ." (p 12). In successive chapters, Feder examines the structure of the strawberry industry, the impact of the foreign strawberry market, the working and living conditions of Mexican workers in the strawberry sector, the role of this US-dominated sector in social conflicts and finally the confrontation between those controlling this sector and the Mexican government. A final chapter poses the question: "What arc the alternatives?" The Mexican Strawberry Industry The terms "strawberry industry" or "trade," as used by Feder, refer to <(. . . the entire sector engaged in production at the farm level, processing, marketing and exports" (p 19). There are two forms in which the product is sold: fresh strawberries and frozen ones. The industry is concentrated in two regions of Mexico.} As of 1974-75, there were 29 freezing factories, three other related factories and ten firms handling fresh strawberries. US capital dominates the industry both through direct capital investment and through provision of operating capital. More than half the freezing factories in Zamora are US owned. The ownership structure is similar in Irapuato. The story is not very different in the case of firms handling fresh strawberries. The actual control exercised by American capital is in fact much greater since all the enterprises deal with US brokers for their exports, and exports form a major share of the output of these firms. Thus, "US capital is involved and present in all enterprises regardless of ownership,