| Abstract: | 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. |
