Dirt in our mouths and hunger in our bellies: Metaphor, theory-making, and systems approaches to sustainable agriculture

The metaphor of the food system,dominant in current research approaches to sustainableagriculture, mirrors the productionist paradigm, whichreduces our relationship to land and food to theproduction and consumption of commodities. Theenactment of the familiar values of nourishment andhospitality is what the goal of sustainableagriculture would amount to in terms of our day to daylived experience. The metaphor of an earthen bowl asa theory of food and agriculture can embody thesevalues such that broader change might be achievedthrough embracing the idea and practice of theories asnourishing and theorizing as hospitable.     

How biotechnology regulation sets a risk/ethics boundary

In public debate over agricultural biotechnology, at issue hasbeen its self-proclaimed aim of further industrializingagriculture. Using languages of risk, critics and proponentshave engaged in an implicit ethics debate on the direction oftechnoscientific development. Critics have challenged thebiotechnological R&D agenda for attributing socio-agronomicproblems to genetic deficiencies, while perpetuating the hazardsof intensive monoculture. They diagnosed ominous links betweentechnological dependency and tangible harm from biotechnologyproducts.In response to scientific and public concerns, theEuropean Community enacted precautionary legislation for theintentional release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Inits implementation, choices for managing and investigatingbiotechnological risk involve an implicit environmental ethics.Yet the official policy language downplays the inherent valuejudgments, by portraying risk regulation as a matter ofobjective science.In parallel with safety regulation, thestate has devised an official bioethics that judges where todraw the line in applying biotechnological knowledge, as ifthe science itself were value-free. Bioethics may also judge howto balance risks and benefits, as if their definition were notan issue. This form of ethics serves to compensate for theunacknowledged value-choices and institutional commitmentsalready embedded in R&D priorities.Thus the state separatesrisk and ethics, while assigning both realms to specialists.The risk/ethics boundary encourages public deference to theexpert assessments of both safety regulators and professionalethicists. Biotechnology embodies a contentious model of controlover nature and society, yet this issue becomes displaced andfragmented into various administrative controls. At stake arethe prospects for democratizing the problem-definitions thatguide R&D priorities.     

Converting or not converting to organic farming in Austria:Farmer types and their rationale

Reasons for converting to organic farming have been studied in a number of instances. However, the underlying rationale that motivates the behavior is not always made clear. This study aims to provide a detailed picture of farmers decision-making and illustrate the choice between organic and conventional farm management. Based on 21 interviews with farmers, a decision-tree highlighting the reasons and constraints involved in the decision of farmers to use, or not to use, organic production techniques was formulated. The accuracy of the decision-tree was tested through a written survey of 65 randomly sampled farmers. The decision-tree permits the identification of decision criteria and examines the decision-making process of farmers in choosing their farming method. It also allows for the characterization of farmer strategies and values, identifying five types of farmers: the committed conventional; the pragmatic conventional; the environment-conscious but not organic; the pragmatic organic; and the committed organic. The importance of taking into account heterogeneity in farmers attitudes, preferences, and goals and their impact on the choice of a farming method is emphasized.Ika Darnhofer is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Economics at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna. She received both her MSc and PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna, working on issues of agricultural development in Africa. Her current research interests include economic and sociological analyses of factors that shape farmers land use decision-making behavior, with a particular focus on organic farming.Walter Schneeberger is a Full Professor of Farm Business Management and Head of the Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Economics at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna. His current research interests include the economics of producing and processing agricultural products and farm business management for both conventional and organic farms.Bernhard Freyer is a Full Professor of Organic Farming and Head of the Institute of Organic Farming of the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna. His work on organic farming focuses on its agronomic aspects (plant cultivation, crop rotations, and soil fertility) as well as on the analysis of conversion to organic farming (planning process, farm development) and its potential for regional development.     

Sampling Strategies for Mapping Soil Phosphorus and Soil Potassium Distributions in Cool Temperate Grassland

Unlike the situation for arable soils, virtually nothing is known about the spatial dependencies of soil properties in cool temperate grassland or about what the optimal sampling strategies ought to be for mapping soil nutrient distributions in such situations. The aim of this study was to investigate the spatial variability in plant-available (soil) phosphorus and potassium in a grass silage field in Northern Ireland and devise optimal sampling strategies for mapping their distributions. Soil samples were collected from the field at 25 m intervals in a regular rectangular grid to provide a database of soil properties. Different data combinations were subsequently abstracted from this database for comparison purposes, and ordinary kriging used to produce interpolated soil maps. Soil potassium displayed greater spatial variability than soil phosphorus. In keeping with this observation, the results of three separate statistical procedures demonstrated that the optimal sample size for estimating the true population means was about twice as large for soil potassium as for soil phosphorus. Optimal sampling strategies, however, related not just to sample size but to sample combination and field shape as well.     

Estimating Average and Proportional Variograms of Soil Properties and Their Potential Use in Precision Agriculture

Precision Agriculture requires a method of gathering information about the spatial variability of soil that reduces the need for expensive and intensive sampling. This can be achieved through the use of what we term average and proportional variograms. A literature search has enabled the gathering of variograms for multiple soil properties, allowing comparison of the magnitude of variability and the construction of averages. For soil properties that display proportionality between their mean squared and variance, the variogram can be predicted from a mean value. These average and proportional variograms are potentially beneficial to implementers of Precision Agriculture as they can be used to plan optimal soil sampling and management schemes. It was found that if wishing to implement site-specific management to a resolution of 20×20 m then grid soil sampling will generally have to be performed at 20–30 m intervals depending on the attribute of interest. A decision-support chart for differential soil management based on a variogram's comparative magnitude to the average is presented. Further work needs to be done on increasing the data base these results are based on and refining the proportional variogram parameters to site-specificity.     

Interactions of formal and informal knowledge systems in village-based tree management in central India

This study critiques the idea of a Western science -- indigenous knowledge dichotomy in agricultural knowledge by examining the hybrid nature of knowledge use and incorporation by villagers in Madhya Pradesh, India. By analyzing knowledge systems as multi-leveled structures consisting of concrete practices linked to more abstract, explanatory concepts, this paper illustrates how information from multiple sources is integrated into local bodies of knowledge about tree management. Practices such as urea fertilization from formal global science might be explained by concepts such as that of a hot/cold duality from informal folk science. Similarly, other pieces of knowledge stemming from diverse knowledge systems are shown to become mixed and matched on practical and conceptual levels. Additionally, several knowledge elements used locally appear to be held in common by many knowledge systems around the world, rendering the determination of their origins in one system or another nearly impossible. These observations lead to the conclusion that local knowledge systems of tree management are better characterized as open systems rather than distinct, closed systems. Furthermore, the constant exchange of material between formal and informal, local and global systems renders untenable any strict dichotomy of knowledge systems.     

Sampling Strategies for Mapping ‘Within-field’ Variability in the Dry Matter Yield and Mineral Nutrient Status of Forage Grass Crops in Cool Temperate Climes

In the absence of suitable technology to measure and map the dry matter (DM) yield distributions of forage grass crops within individual fields, a manual procedure of yield mapping has been developed. Samples of herbage are collected just prior to each silage harvest from known grid points within a field, and sward DM yields at each point are predicted from the mineral composition of the herbage, using empirical mathematical models. Yield maps (and maps of sward nutrient status) are then produced by kriging interpolation between the point data. To make the most efficient use of time and resources, however, sampling intensity needs to be kept to the absolute minimum necessary for interpolation purposes. The aim of the present study was to examine the spatial variability in sward DM yield and mineral nutrient status in a large grass silage field under a three-cut system, and devise optimal sampling strategies for mapping the distributions of these parameters at each cut. Herbage samples were collected from the field, prior to each harvest, at 25 m intervals in a regular rectangular grid to provide databases of herbage nutrient contents and DM yields. Different data combinations were abstracted from these databases for comparison purposes, and ordinary kriging used to produce interpolated maps of DM yield and sward N, P, K and S statuses. The results suggested that a sampling density of just seven samples per hectare was adequate for estimating the true population means of sward DM yield and sward N, P, K, and S statuses. For mapping purposes, it was found that the best compromise between interpolation accuracy and sampling efficiency was to collect herbage samples in a 35.4 m×35.4 m equilateral triangular sampling pattern.     

Food assistance through “surplus” food: Insights from an ethnographic study of food bank work

In Canada, food assistance is provided through a widespread network of extra-governmental, community-based, charitable programs, popularly termed food banks. Most of the food they distribute has been donated by food producers, processors, and retailers or collected through appeals to the public. Some industry donations are of market quality, but many donations are surplus food that cannot be retailed. Drawing on insights from an ethnographic study of food bank work in southern Ontario, we examined how the structure and function of food banks operate to facilitate the distribution of foods not marketed through the retail system. Our findings indicate that the handling of industry donations of unsaleable products is a labor-intensive activity, made possible by the surfeit of unpaid labor in food banks, the neediness of food bank clients, and clients lack of rights in this system. The marshalling of volunteer labor to serve a corporate need might be construed as a win-win situation because the work of salvaging edible foodstuffs from among industry surplus helps to feed the hungry while also diminishing the amount of refuse deposited in landfill sites, sparing corporations disposal costs and landfill tipping fees, and helping them forge an image of good corporate citizenship. However, the reliance of food banks on industry donations means that food assistance becomes defined as that which the corporate sector cannot retail. Moreover, the intertwining of food bank work with corporate needs may function to further entrench this ad hoc secondary food system and mitigate against initiatives to develop more effective responses to problems of hunger and food insecurity in our communities.     

Resistance,redistribution, and power in the Fair Trade banana initiative

The Fair Trade movement seeks to alter conventional trade relations through a system of social and environmental standards, certification, and labels designed to help shorten the social distance between consumers in the North and producers in the South. The strategy is based on working both in and against the same global capitalist market that it hopes to alter, raising questions about if and how Fair Trade initiatives exhibit counter-hegemonic potential to transform the conventional agro-food system. This paper considers the multiple levels at which Fair Trade alternatives operate to identify the different forms of social action that the movement engages with, and to clarify where the movements counter-hegemonic potentials are being realized. I suggest the Fair Trade movement is most successful in encouraging consumers and producers to commit acts of resistance and in supporting redistributive action that shifts resources from North to South. Up to now, however, Fair Trade alternatives appear to hold only a theoretical potential to provoke transformative change in the agro-food system. A reconceptualization of the Fair Trade model and how it is implemented could allow it to manifest more of its implicit, oppositional promise.Aimee Shreckis a sociologist and the Research Specialist for the California Faculty Association. Her previous work as a postdoctoral researcher with the University of California, Berkeley and the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program focused on social justice, sustainable agriculture, and fair trade.     

Gendered participation in water management: Issues and illustrations from water users‘ associations in South Asia

The widespread trend to transferirrigation management responsibility from the stateto communities or local user groups has byand large ignored the implications ofintra-community power differences for theeffectiveness and equity of water management. Genderis a recurrent source of such differences. Despitethe rhetoric on womens participation, a review ofevidence from South Asia shows that femaleparticipation is minimal in water usersorganizations. One reason for this is that theformal and informal membership criteria excludewomen. Moreover, the balance between costs andbenefits of participation is often negative forwomen because complying with the rules and practicesof the organization involves considerable time costsand social risks, whereas other ways to obtainirrigation services may be more effective for femalewater users. Although effective, these other andoften informal ways of obtaining irrigation servicesare also typically less secure. More formalparticipation of women can strengthen womensbargaining position as resource users withinhouseholds and communities. Greater involvement ofwomen can also strengthen the effectiveness of theorganization by improving womens compliance withrules and maintenance contributions. Furtherdetailed and comparative research is required toidentify the major factors that affect womensparticipation and control over resources, ifdevolution policies are to address the tensionbetween objectives of transferring control overresources to community institutions, and ensuringthe participation of all members of the community,especially women.     

Constructing “green” foods: Corporate capital, risk, and organic farming in Australia and New Zealand

Public concern over environmentalquality and food safety has culminated in thedevelopment of markets for green foods – foodsthat are variously construed as fresh, chemical-free,nutritious, natural, or produced in anenvironmentally-sustainable manner. Understanding theemergence of green foods is dependent on analysisboth of the ways in which foods are produced andprocessed, and of the meanings that are attached tothem at each stage of their production,transformation, and consumption. The notion of greenfoods is thereby understood here as a fluid andcontestable signifier that myriad actors involved inthe production/consumption cycle may attempt to shapefor their own purposes. This paper explores corporate capital's recent attempts, through certification logosand advertising, to signify the healthiness andenvironmental virtues of organically-produced foods inAustralia and New Zealand. These attempts have not,however, been universally successful either in termsof gaining consumer interest, or in gaining agreementsbetween farmers, certifying organizations, andcapitalist firms over the meaning of organic and thepractice of sustainable agriculture. The experienceof corporate involvement in the organics industry isillustrative of yet-to-be-resolved processes ofreflexive modernization. As food production andtransformation continues to produce environmental andsocial risks, the question of just what makes foodgreen will continue to be a source of social conflict.     

Using global organic markets to pay for ecologically based agricultural development in China

The traditional command and control approach and the more recent free market have proven inadequate for promoting ecological agricultural development in China. Organic certification represents a regulated market mechanism with the potential to stimulate ecologically based agricultural research, extension, and investment. Recent linkages between the global organic food industry and local agricultural development in China provide an opportunity to test this potential. The article examines Chinas two largest organic certification systems for their potential to promote the adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) as a key component of ecological agriculture. Organic certification is providing a format for research, extension, and implementation of IPM principles and practices, and has the potential to do much more. However, possible contradictions between ecological and market rationality, inherent in organic certification and marketing systems, may be exacerbated by the authoritarian political economy of rural China.Paul Thiersis an assistant professor of Political Science at Washington State University Vancouver where he teaches comparative politics, political economy, and environmental policy in the Program in Public Affairs. His research focuses on the environmental, social, and political dynamics of globalization in rural China, with a particular emphasis on Chinas integration into global food trade and food standards.     

Attitudes,beliefs, and prevalence of dumpster diving as a means to obtain food by Midwestern,low-income,urban dwellers

Dumpster diving is a term generally used for obtaining items, in this case food for consumption, from dumpsters. This study evaluates the prevalence of dumpster diving in two low-income urban communities in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Additionally, attitudes and beliefs of adults who engage in this behavior are reported. Surveys (n=396) were used to collect data including individual dumpster diving behavior, food security, health, and demographic data. Nearly one-fifth of those surveyed had used dumpster diving as a means to obtain food. Focus groups (n=17) were conducted to further evaluate dumpster divers attitudes and beliefs about dumpster diving, use of food assistance programs including benefits and barriers, and other strategies used to obtain food such as stealing. Focus group participants were primarily homeless and most were high school educated. Ways to improve delivery of food assistance are suggested. In conclusion, more research on the use of dumpsters as a source of food is needed. Utilizing more of the 96 billion pounds of food wasted each year in the US through food recovery and donation programs could help to provide socially acceptable means for low-income urban dwellers to obtain food.     

Gender, land, and water: From reform to counter-reform in Latin America

Rural women did not fare very well inthe land reforms carried out during the Latin Americanreformist period of the 1960s and 1970s, with womenbeing under-represented among the beneficiaries. It isargued that women have been excluded from access toand control over water for similar reasons that theywere excluded from access to land during thesereforms. The paper also investigates the extent towhich women have gained or lost access to land duringthe counter-reforms of the 1980s and 1990s. Underthe neo-liberal agenda, production cooperatives aswell as communal access to land have largely beenundermined in favor of privatization and theindividual parcelization of collectives. Significantland titling efforts are also being carried outthroughout the region to promote the development of avigorous land market. This latter period has also beencharacterized by the growth of the feminist movementthroughout Latin America and a growing commitment bystates to gender equity. The paper reviews the extentto which rural womens access to land and, thus, waterhas potentially been enhanced by recent changes inagrarian and legal codes.     

Relational dynamics and strategies: Men and women in a forest community in Sweden

This article views gender dynamics and strategies for change in a small Swedish village from a systems perspective. In the context of the struggle for the communal management of forests, tensions arose in the relations among the people in the village who differed in their opinions as to how to approach village development. Some village women argued for the importance of issues other than only community forestry in the development of the community's future livelihoods and well-being. They also believed that linking these activities with each other are vital for the community. Co-operative inquiry with women in the village reveals that, in their view, the community's overall needs are the most meaningful point of departure and not just individual resource management initiatives. They believed that it was vital to link resource management with other developmental activities in the village. The inquiry process also shows how the differences that may arise between men and women are dependent on the context, their relationships, and the networks they activate rather than the differences emerging solely from gender roles or the structure. Attention to how women and men draw boundaries around their activities and relationships expands our understanding of the diverse means they use for reaching their objectives. It also highlights the role of innovators who cross these boundaries and work toward change.     

Culturing community development,neighborhood open space,and civic agriculture: The case of Latino community gardens in New York City

To determine the role Latino community gardens play in community development, open space, and civic agriculture, we conducted interviews with 32 community gardeners from 20 gardens, and with staff from 11 community gardening support non-profit organizations and government agencies. We also conducted observations in the gardens, and reviewed documents written by the gardeners and staff from 13 support organizations and agencies. In addition to being sites for production of conventional and ethnic vegetables and herbs, the gardens host numerous social, educational, and cultural events, including neighborhood and church gatherings, holiday parties, childrens activities, school tours, concerts, health fairs, and voter registration drives. In some cases, the gardens also serve to promote community activism. The primary concern of gardeners is to secure land tenure in the face of pressures to develop the garden sites for housing. The support organizations and agencies provide help with land tenure, as well as with advocacy, organization, and horticultural practices. Although the role of the Latino gardens in community development appears to be more important than their role in open space or agricultural production, the gardens can also be viewed as unique participatory landscapes that combine aspects of all three movements, as well as provide a connection between immigrants and their cultural heritage.     

Bringing political economy into the debate on the obesity epidemic

This paper takes what has been termed the epidemic of obesity as the point of departure to examine the way in which political economic factors intersect with diet and nutrition to determine adverse health outcomes. The paper proposes several concepts to better understand the dynamics of the foodscape – institutional sites for the merchandising and consumption of food. These include the concepts of spatial colonization and pseudo foods. With a focus on critical dimensions of the contemporary foodscape, principally supermarket merchandising practices, as well as trends in other food vending operations, the paper explores incentives that motivate capital to spatially colonize the foodscape with aggressively promoted high fat/high sugar pseudo foods. The paper reports on extensive research on trade industry publications as well as data collected through onsite investigations of supermarket practices of the three largest Canadian retail supermarket operations. In addition, current merchandising practices of convenience chain store operations and some non-traditional food vending sites are examined. In concluding, it is argued that the rapidly evolving interdisciplinary debate around the obesity crisis would benefit considerably from the insights to be gained from political economic analysis of retail food industry practices and trends.     

Sustainable agriculture in Michigan: Some missing dimensions

Michigan's approach to sustainability does not conflict with its efforts to reindustrialize state agriculture. As currently applied, agricultural sustainability remains a one-dimensional concept tightly focused on the condition of production resources and the larger physical environment. The social and political dimensions of sustainability, by contrast, are conspicuously absent. Using Michigan's livestock initiative as a case in point, it is argued that this conceptualization conforms to and reinforces the reindustrialization of agriculture and the existing structure of power within the industry.Laura B. DeLind is a Specialist in the Department of Anthropology at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. Her current research focuses on the economic and political structure of Michigan agriculture. She has written numerous articles critically evaluating the effects of state agricultural programs and policies at the local or community level.     

Sustaining local agriculture Barriers and opportunities to direct marketing between farms and restaurants in Colorado

Research explored methods for shortening the food links or developing the local foodshed by connecting farmers with food service buyers (for restaurants and institutions) in Colorado. Telephone interviews were used to investigate marketing and purchasing practices. Findings include that price is not a significant factor in purchasing decisions; that food buyers prioritize quality as their top purchasing criterion but are not aware that local farmers can provide higher quality, that institutions are interested in buying locally; that small farms can offer comparable or higher quality produce andservice; and that farmers need to show buyers what the quality of produce and service they can provide.     

Environmental and social risks, and the construction of “best-practice” in Australian agriculture

Amongst the environmental and social externalities generated by Australian agriculture are a number of risks both to the health and safety of communities living near sites of agricultural production, and to the end consumers of agricultural products. Responses to these potential risks – and to problems of environmental sustainability more generally – have included a number of programs to variously: define best-practice for particular industries; implement Quality Assurance procedures; and encourage the formation of self-help community Landcare groups. Taken together, these programs appear to deal comprehensively with both the social and environmental risks associated with agricultural production and products. However, these programs may also be interpreted as strategies that actually encourage the further intensification of agriculture, while attempting to reassure consumers that their food is safe and that farmers are doing all they can to protect the environment. Investigation of the Australian cotton and beef industries illustrates a number of strategies that have become evident between farmers, agri-science agencies, and the retail sector to manage these risks and define good farming practices in ways that satisfy their own perceived interests. Contrary to the image, therefore, of green consumption that is emerging as an integrated concern for clean (and thereby healthy) and sustainably produced foods, it appears that mainstream agricultural industries have bifurcated these concerns in ways that distract attention from production and processing methods, leaving conflict over on-farm production methods a characteristic only of those industries believed to have direct health impacts on nearby communities.