Growing food,growing a movement: climate adaptation and civic agriculture in the southeastern United States

This article examines the role that civic agriculture in Georgia (US) plays in shaping attitudes, strategies, and relationships that foster both sustainability and adaptation to a changing climate. Civic agriculture is a social movement that attracts a specific type of “activist” farmer, who is linked to a strong social network that includes other farmers and consumers. Positioning farmers’ practices within a social movement broadens the understanding of adaptive capacity beyond how farmers adapt to understand why they do so. By drawing upon qualitative and quantitative data and by focusing on the cosmological, organizational, and technical dimensions of the social movement, the study illuminates how social values and networks shape production and marketing strategies that enable farmers to share resources and risks. We propose a conceptual framework for understanding how technical and social strategies aimed to address the sustainability goals of the movement also increase adaptive capacity at multiple timescales. In conclusion, we outline directions for future research, including the need for longitudinal studies that focus on consumer motivation and willingness to pay, the effects of scale on consumer loyalty and producer cooperation, and the role of a social movement in climate change adaptation. Finally, we stress that farmers’ ability to thrive in uncertain climate futures calls for transformative approaches to sustainable agriculture that support the development of strong social networks.     

Farmer-Community Connections and the Future of Ecological Agriculture in California

While questions about the environmental sustainability of contemporary farming practices and the socioeconomic viability of rural communities are attracting increasing attention throughout the US, these two issues are rarely considered together. This paper explores the current and potential connections between these two aspects of sustainability, using data on community members’ and farmers’ views of agricultural issues in California’s Central Valley. These views were collected from a series of individual and group interviews with biologically oriented and conventional farmers as well as community stakeholders. Local marketing, farmland preservation, and perceptions of sustainable agriculture comprised the primary topics of discussion. The mixed results indicate that, while many farmers and community members have a strong interest in these topics, sustainable community development and the use of sustainable farming practices are seldom explicitly linked. On the other hand, many separate efforts around the Valley to increase local marketing and agritourism, improve public education about agriculture, and organize grassroots farmland preservation initiatives were documented. We conclude that linking these efforts more explicitly to sustainable agriculture and promoting more engagement between ecologically oriented farmers and their communities could engender more economic and political support for these farmers, helping them and their communities to achieve greater sustainability in the long run. Sonja Brodt is a former program evaluation specialist with the University of California Integrated Pest Management Program. Her current research focuses on extension and adoption of integrated pest management strategies by California growers and the impacts of pesticide safety training programs on farmworkers. Gail Feenstra is a food systems analyst at the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP). She coordinates SAREP’s Community Development and Public Policy grants program and conducts outreach and education to academic and community-based groups to build their capacity and leadership skills for developing sustainable community food systems. Robin Kozloff is a social science researcher and consultant in agricultural and land use policy. Karen Klonsky is an extension specialist at the University of California at Davis in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Her research focuses on the economic viability of organic and sustainable farming systems as well as the evolution of the organic market. Laura Tourte is county director and farm advisor at the University of California Cooperative Extension in Santa Cruz County. Her research and extension activities currently focus on farm management and marketing for small-scale growers.     

中外有机农业发展比较及中国有机农业的热点难点问题解析

中国的有机农业认证面积居全球第四位,整体水平较低。存在问题：有机产品单元规模小、产业化水平和附加值较低;单纯强调产品安全卫生质量, 而忽视生态协调、环境友好的理念和实践;现代生物防治技术、生物肥料技术、除草技术研究和推广滞后,不能满足有机农业规模发展的要求,生产成本高;山区有机农业基地的水土流失问题突出、土壤和大气污染对有机农业带来新的的安全风险;国内有机认证尚未与国际接轨,缺乏国际竞争力。对策：将有机农业作为生态文明建设的重要组成部分开展普及教育和宣传;国家对有机农业项目以重点扶持;开展国家层面的特色有机农业规模基地规划;完善有机食品专业人员的资格认定、职业规范,建立有机农业诚信体系;各大院所、有机农业相关机构和生产企业应加强合作,促进有机农业产学研结合,延长有机农业产业链;重视山区有机农业的水土保持问题,加强对区域有机农业基地土壤和大气污染的防控和预警;制定与国际标准接轨的、切实可行的有机农业标准体系,推动国际间有机证书的互认,提高中国有机产品的国际竞争力。     

Voluntary standards,certification, and accreditation in the global organic agriculture field: a tripartite model of techno-politics

This article analyzes the institutionalization of the global organic agriculture field and sheds new light on the conventionalization debate. The institutions that shape the field form a tripartite standards regime of governance (TSR) that links standard-setting, certification, and accreditation activities, in a layering of markets for services that are additional to (and inseparable from) the market for certified organic products. At each of the three poles of the TSR, i.e., for standard-setting, certification, and accreditation, we describe how the corresponding markets were constructed over time and the role of the different actors in their evolution. We analyze the politics at stake among the actors at each pole, their competing or cooperative interests and visions, and the tensions between them in the promotion of markets. Through the lens of the TSR heuristic, we show that the institutionalization of the organic field beginning in the 1990s and its de facto inclusion in the broader sustainability field beginning in the 2000s contribute to a progressive distancing between the organic movement and its initial political project of alterity, to which public and private actors both contribute actively. As a set of interlinked market institutions, the TSR orients and narrows the scope of debate, which becomes restricted to “market-compatible” dimensions and objects. We conclude that the TSR is a promising heuristic for analyzing contemporary global regulation.     

Designing sustainable agriculture education: Academics’ suggestions for an undergraduate curriculum at a land grant university

Historically, land grant universities and their colleges of agriculture have been discipline driven in both their curricula and research agendas. Critics call for interdisciplinary approaches to undergraduate curriculum. Concomitantly, sustainable agriculture (SA) education is beginning to emerge as a way to address many complex social and environmental problems. University of California at Davis faculty, staff, and students are developing an undergraduate SA major. To inform this process, a web-based Delphi survey of academics working in fields related to SA was conducted. Faculty from colleges and universities across the US were surveyed. Participants suggested that students needed knowledge of natural and social science disciplines relating to the agri-food system. In addition, stakeholders suggested students learn through experiences that link the classroom to field work, engaging a broad range of actors within applied settings. Stakeholders also emphasized the need for interdisciplinary and applied scholarship. Additionally, they proposed a range of teaching and learning approaches, including many practical experiences. Given the diverse suggestions of content knowledge and means of producing knowledge, the survey presented unique challenges and called into question the epistemological and pedagogical norms currently found in land grant colleges of agriculture. This study has implications for land grant universities seeking to develop undergraduate curriculum appropriate to the field of SA. Damian M. Parr is a doctoral student of Agricultural and Environmental Education, in the School of Education at the University of California at Davis. His professional interests include organic farming, sustainable agriculture, experiential and transformational learning, critical pedagogy, and participatory action research. He is currently working on linking on-campus student initiated sustainable farm and food systems projects to curricula at land grant universities Cary J. Trexler is an assistant professor of Agricultural and Environmental Education at the University of California at Davis where he teaches courses in the history of agricultural education, experiential learning, and research methods for practicing teachers. His research focuses on experiential learning, sustainable agriculture education, and needs of teachers and informal educators within the context of the agri-food system Navina R. Khanna is a graduate student pursuing an MS in International Agricultural Development at the University of California at Davis. She is committed to facilitating community dialogue and education about sustainability issues. Her work at the university focuses on the process and goal of sustainability in agricultural education and campus food system sustainability. Her primary professional interests include democratic participatory process in agri-food system sustainability and urban revitalization Bryce T. Battisti is a doctoral student of Agricultural and Environmental Education, in the School of Education at the University of California at Davis. His research interests include the development of alternative models for university education that are founded on student-centered experiential learning. Specifically, he studies models of permaculture education that lead toward accredited degrees and relates these models to sustainable agriculture degree programs     

Will work for food: agricultural interns,apprentices, volunteers,and the agrarian question

Recently, growing numbers of interns, apprentices, and volunteers are being recruited to work seasonally on ecologically oriented and organic farms across the global north. To date, there has been very little research examining these emergent forms of non-waged work. In this paper, we analyze the relationships between non-waged agricultural work and the economic circumstances of small- to medium-size farms and the non-economic ambitions of farm operators. We do so through a quantitative and qualitative analysis of farmers’ responses to two surveys we conducted of farmers using non-waged workers in Ontario, Canada. We situate our analysis within debates on the agrarian question, which we contend requires an account for both the economic and non-economic dimensions of new forms of non-waged work on farms. We suggest that many ecologically oriented farm operators are struggling financially and report low gross on-farm revenues and personal incomes. We argue that in addition to relying on off-farm incomes and self-exploitation, many farms are managing to persist in a challenging economic climate through their use of intern, apprentice, and volunteer labor. However, we also suggest that the growth of non-waged work on farms is not simply being driven by economic processes but also a series of non-economic relationships focused on non-institutional farmer training, the pursuit of sustainability, and social movement building. We suggest, the “economic” and “non-economic” dimensions of internships, apprenticeships, and forms of volunteerism sit uneasily alongside of one another, generating questions about the politics, ethics, and sustainability of non-waged work and ecological farming.     

马克思利益观视阈下农民生产经营观念的变迁与构建

依据马克思的利益观,对利益问题的理解要坚守唯物史观立场,利益的实质是调节社会关系。生产经营观念是农民利益观的集中体现,随着我国社会发展环境的变化,改革开放以来东部地区农民的生产经营观念出现了从“勤勉重农”到“农工商并进”的转变,中西部地区农民的生产经营观念出现了从“勤勉重农”到“重工保农”再到“农工商并进”的转变。农民生产经营观念的变迁对社会关系既产生了积极影响又产生了消极影响,为弱化消极影响、实现多重利益关系的和谐要进一步构建农民的生产经营观念。     

绿色发展下中国有机农业认证中心的区域格局与核心区影响力评价

为了解现代有机农业日益复杂的网络结构及生产组织下有机农业认证中心空间区域格局与核心区（即北京市）综合影响力的类型特征,采用ArcGIS空间分析法、自然间断点分级法和综合评价法,基于有机农业企业的认证数据,对中国有机农业认证中心的发展演化、区域格局及北京市有机农业认证中心的综合影响力进行了研究。结果表明：1）近10年来有机农业认证中心发展呈现初期平缓后期持续不断增长的态势,其空间分布具有不均衡性、地域极化特征显著性、区域集聚性和市场腹地渐次地域扩大化特征与趋势。2）有机农业认证中心三大片区内部分布格局分为高—高型、中—中型和低—低型等10种类型。3）核心区北京市各市辖区有机认证产品产量和有机生产企业数量空间分布同样存在着内部不均衡性特征。4）北京市有机农业认证中心影响力评价主要可分为综合性、均衡性、成长性和起步性有机农业认证中心四类,具有不同的功能特征与市场结构。针对中国有机农业认证中心的空间布局与空间联系及组织有效性问题,政府应建立有效的有机认证财政补助体系,培育起中西部的区域性有机农业认证中心,并推进起步性和成长性有机农业认证中心应学习均衡性和综合性有机农业认证中心的发展经验,发挥自...     

韩国有机农业的发展与启示

现代农业造成了环境污染,人们开始注重食品安全,有机农业也应运而生。韩国有机农业从20世纪70年代兴起以来,随着环境友好型农业的发展,有机农业成为环境友好型农业重要的组成部分。韩国通过对有机农业的政策支持、认证管理、法规建设及政府和非政府对有机农业的推动作用等措施,使其国内有机农业发展迅猛,但韩国在发展有机农业的过程中也存在技术和推广等诸多问题。我国有机农业起步较晚,可借鉴韩国发展有机农业的经验,解决好我国发展有机农业和粮食自给的矛盾,加强有机产品的认证,引进农业直接支付制度等措施,使我国有机农业得到健康、稳步地发展。     

试论我国现阶段解决“三农”问题的战略举措

农业问题、农民问题和农村问题始终是决定我国经济发展和社会稳定的根本问题。我们党和政府历来都非常重视“三农”问题。按照今年中央1号文件的要求,要在继续实施“农 民增收”政策的同时,着力提高农业综合生产能力。这是我国现阶段解决“三农”问题的又一,钱略举措。     

Civic agriculture and community engagement

Several scholars have claimed that small-scale agriculture in which farmers sell goods to the local market has the potential to strengthen social ties and a sense of community, a phenomenon referred to as “civic agriculture.” Proponents see promise in the increase in the number of community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, farmers markets, and other locally orientated distribution systems as well as the growing interest among consumers for buying locally produced goods. Yet others have suggested that these novel or reborn distribution mechanisms are still primarily means of instrumental economic exchange and that optimistic characterizations of a renewed sense of community emerging from these practices are unfounded. This study provides an empirical assessment of the extent to which these community-based agriculture markets are associated with connection to community, volunteerism, and civic and political activities. In order to assess the relationship between civic agriculture and community engagement, we surveyed over 1,300 people in the Mid-Hudson region of New York State. The study design includes “civic agriculture participants” as the unit of analysis, defined as CSA farm members, shoppers at independent health food stores, and farmers market patrons. For comparison, a telephone survey of randomly selected residents of the region’s general population was also conducted. Unlike studies that focus solely on the perceptions of certain civic agriculture participants (e.g., CSA members), by comparing the perceptions and behaviors of those engaged in a range of civic agriculture practices, we are able to identify the effects of different forms of participation. The results demonstrate higher levels of voluntarism and engagement in local politics among civic agriculture participants relative to the general population. In addition, we found variation among those engaged in different forms of civic agriculture, with those immersed in more socially embedded forms of exchange demonstrating greater community and political involvement. These findings lend empirical support to the civic agriculture thesis.     

小农户参与现代农业发展:现实特征、实现基础与机制构建

基于“大国小农”的国情,促进小农户和现代农业有效衔接是推动中国农业现代化发展进程以及实现乡村振兴战略的主要着力点。虽然当前小农户参与现代农业发展存在老龄化、女性化和兼业化“三化”并重的锁定效应、耕地禀赋的刚性效应以及市场准入的壁垒效应,但重新审视小农户的生命活力与现代农业发展的包容性可以发现,小农户和现代农业之间存在相容性关系。进一步提出,实现小农户和现代农业衔接的关键在于建立新型农业服务主体激励相容机制、社会网和利益网“双重”网络机制以及小农户自我发展能力提升机制。     

中国有机产品认证与监管问题研究--基于云南省有机农业市场培育视角

基于有机认证与监管体系的研究以及云南省有机农业产业的调研基础上,认为中国有机认证与监管体系存在:认证机构违规现象普遍,认证与监管体系不完整,有机标识的违规使用,有机标准过严,认证成本过高,违法成本低,有机认证机构检查员的管理漏洞等问题。提出了地方政府相关部门对有机认证机构及认证信息等建立备案制,构建有机认证财政扶持政策体系,打造区域性特色农产品有机认证,以及在成立云南农业大学有机认证中心等建议。     

From value to values: sustainable consumption at farmers markets

Advocates of environmental sustainability and social justice increasingly pursue their goals through the promotion of so-called “green” products such as locally grown organic produce. While many scholars support this strategy, others criticize it harshly, arguing that environmental degradation and social injustice are inherent results of capitalism and that positive social change must be achieved through collective action. This study draws upon 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork at two farmers markets located in demographically different parts of the San Francisco Bay Area to examine how market managers, vendors, and regular customers negotiate tensions between their economic strategies and environmental sustainability and social justice goals. Managers, vendors, and customers emphasize the ethical rather than financial motivations of their markets through comparisons to capitalist, industrial agriculture and through attention to perceived economic sacrifices made by market vendors. They also portray economic strategies as a pragmatic choice, pointing to failed efforts to achieve justice and sustainability through policy change as well as difficulties funding and sustaining non-profit organizations. While market managers, vendors, and customers deny any difficulties pursuing justice and sustainability through local economics, the need for vendors to sustain their livelihoods does sometimes interfere with their social justice goals. This has consequences for the function of each market.

Sustainable agriculture and free market economics: Finding common ground in Adam Smith

There are two competing approaches to sustainability in agriculture. One stresses a strict economic approach in which market forces should guide the activities of agricultural producers. The other advocates the need to balance economic with environmental and social objectives, even to the point of reducing profitability. The writings of the eighteenth century moral philosopher Adam Smith could bridge the debate. Smith certainly promoted profit-seeking, private property, and free market exchange consistent with the strict economic perspective. However, his writings are also consistent with many aspects of sustainable agriculture. For example, Smith argued that people ought to exercise restraint in their pursuit of self-interest, and he believed in balancing economic with environmental and social considerations. If both sides of the debate more fully regard the work of Adam Smith, then proponents of the strict economic perspective might be more appreciative of the concerns raised within the sustainable agriculture community, while advocates of sustainability might be more effective in achieving the objective of a sustainable agriculture. Harvey S. James Jr., PhD is an Associate Professor in the Division of Applied Social Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia. His research interests are in the economic determinants of trust and ethical behavior. He recently completed studies on trust in biotechnology institutions and the ethical attitudes of farmers.     

资源消耗农业的可持续经营——日本有机农业发展对中国的借鉴

在界定有机农业内涵的基础上,从4个方面分析了日本农业可持续经营的做法。一是介绍日本有机农业的组织管理机构及相关法律法规;二是简述日本有机农产品的认证程序,即确定生产计划,整理栽培管理记录,制作向登记认证机构提交的认证申请书,实地检查与判定,给予认证,完成认证后的业务;三是分析日本有机农业的经营情况,归纳了日本有机农产品流通的6种主要形式,总结了农产品流通与消费的4个基本特征,即注重食品的安全性、鼓励销售宅配化、推行订单产销、加强产销沟通交流;四是介绍日本有机农业的运行机制,重点介绍了其生产者-消费者＂提携＂系统。在考察日本与中国国情差异的基础上,从3个方面提出了日本有机农业发展经验对中国的启示,包括转变思想与观念、建立网状的有机农业协会、完善有机农产品管理制度等。     

Place,Taste, or Face-to-Face? Understanding Producer–Consumer Networks in “Local” Food Systems in Washington State

In an increasingly globalized food economy, local agri-food initiatives are promoted as more sustainable alternatives, both for small-scale producers and ecologically conscious consumers. However, revitalizing local agri-food communities in rural agro-industrial regions is particularly challenging. This case study examines Grant and Chelan Counties, two industrial farming regions in rural Central Washington State, distant from the urban fringe. Farmers in these counties have tried diversifying large-scale processing into organics and marketing niche and organic produce at popular farmers markets in Seattle about 200 miles away. Such strategies invoke the question, “How are ‘local’ agri-food networks socially and geographically defined?” The meaning of what constitutes “local” and/or “sustainable” systems merits consideration in the linking of these rural counties with distant urban farmers markets. Employing historical, in-depth interview and survey research, we analyze production and consumption networks and the non-market systems that residents in these counties access for self-provisioning and food security.     

关于夏县发展特色现代农业的思考

通过对夏县农业产业经济发展现状、农业发展现状、农村经济与农民收入情况、农业生产条件等现状的分析,发现夏县农业发展存在基础设施建设滞后、农民组织化程度低、农业先进技术普及率低、农业产业开发程度低等问题,并根据对上述问题的理解,提出夏县发展特色现代农业的相应对策,即健全机制体制、加大财政投入、创新发展、提高农民组织化程度、做大做强龙头企业、高度重视质量安全、充分运用"互联网+"、加大农业环保力度等。     

Cultivating citizenship,equity, and social inclusion? Putting civic agriculture into practice through urban farming

Civic agriculture is an approach to agriculture and food production that—in contrast with the industrial food system—is embedded in local environmental, social, and economic contexts. Alongside proliferation of the alternative food projects that characterize civic agriculture, growing literature critiques how their implementation runs counter to the ideal of civic agriculture. This study assesses the relevance of three such critiques to urban farming, aiming to understand how different farming models balance civic and economic exchange, prioritize food justice, and create socially inclusive spaces. Using a case study approach that incorporated interviews, participant observation, and document review, I compare two urban farms in Baltimore, Maryland—a “community farm” that emphasizes community engagement, and a “commercial farm” that focuses on job creation. Findings reveal the community farm prioritizes civic participation and food access for low-income residents, and strives to create socially inclusive space. However, the farmers’ “outsider” status challenges community engagement efforts. The commercial farm focuses on financial sustainability rather than participatory processes or food equity, reflecting the use of food production as a means toward community development rather than propagation of a food citizenry. Both farms meet authentic needs that contribute to neighborhood improvement, though findings suggest a lack of interest by residents in obtaining urban farm food, raising concerns about its appeal and accessibility to diverse consumers. Though not equally participatory, equitable, or social inclusive, both farms exemplify projects physically and philosophically rooted in the local social context, necessary characteristics for promoting civic engagement with the food system.     

市场经济与社区合作:泰国南奔府有机农业的个案研究

泰国的小农经济在市场化条件下顽强存在的主要原因是当地的社会结构和道德传统依然具有比较强的韧性和稳定性。对泰国南奔府的有机农业进行人类学田野调查发现,小农户在市场化情境中面临销路不稳定、农业劳动力短缺等风险,但是从事有机农业的农民通过有效运用有机农业的种植技术、社区合作网络来缓解这种风险,维护有机农业的价值。在政府政策、市场力量和“互帮互助”“团结协作”道德规范的共同作用下,小农户积极建立社区企业、学习中心等农业合作组织,这既有助于他们在参与市场化的过程中维护生计安全,同时也使这种道德规范开始具有市场经济的特征,焕发出新的生机与活力。此外,小农户的生产实践也有助于维护乡村的社会秩序,传承原有的道德规范。