Rethinking Food System Transformation

Description

This book contains a collection of selected papers from the 2017 Farm-to-Plate: Uniting for a Just and Sustainable Food System conference in Ithaca, New York, which explored what different advocates, stakeholders, growers, and community members today prioritize when it comes to justice, action, and transformation in the agri-food system. The research presented at this symposium shows the diverse range of approaches scientists have taken to investigate this aforementioned question. The papers represent a combined effort to creatively educate, share, and connect work being done by stakeholders on food system transformation.  Previously published in Agriculture and Human Values Volume 36, issue 4, December 2019 Chapters “The abandonment of maize landraces over the last 50 years in Morelos, Mexico: a tracing study using a multi-level perspective”, “How to include socio-economic considerations in decision-making on agricultural biotechnology? Two models from Kenya and South Africa”, “Do translocal networks matter for agricultural innovation? A case study on advice sharing in small-scale farming communities in Northeast Thailand”, “Correction to: Do translocal networks matter for agricultural innovation? A case study on advice sharing in small-scale farming communities in Northeast Thailand” and “Translocal practices and proximities in short quality food chains at the periphery: the case of North Swedish farmers” are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com. Contents The abandonment of maize landraces over the last 50 years in Morelos, Mexico: a tracing study using a multi-level perspective Abstract Introduction Data collection and analysis Analytical framework Results Reduction of the cultivation of maize landraces in the families and municipalities A multilevel perspective on why farmers reduced the cultivation of maize landraces Radical innovation: the introduction of maize hybrids Changes in the maize cultivation regime Climatic macro-level changes favoring hybrids Macro-level urbanization and market regime changes favoring hybrids Macro-level and market regime changes favoring Ancho Policy and cultural regime changes favoring hybrids User practice changes affecting specific landraces Alternative markets affecting maize Macro-level changes affecting maize Policy and cultural regimes changes affecting maize Resistance against the transition Discussion Conclusions Acknowledgements References How to include socio-economic considerations in decision-making on agricultural biotechnology? Two models from Kenya and South Africa Abstract Introduction Socio-economic considerations as a new object of regulation Theoretical and methodological approach Socio-economic considerations in Kenyan biotechnology Agricultural biotechnology regulation The application form Public consultation The NBA board Kenya: bottom-up and inclusive Socio-economic considerations in South African biotechnology Agricultural biotechnology regulation GM yeast GM potatoes South Africa: ad hoc and case-to-case Discussion and conclusion Acknowledgements References Do translocal networks matter for agricultural innovation? A case study on advice sharing in small-scale farming communities in Northeast Thailand Abstract Introduction Theoretical background and conceptual framework Agricultural innovation from a social network perspective Incorporating geographical space and mobility: towards a translocal network perspective Research framework Methods and procedures Site description Data sampling and processing Methodological considerations Results Current agricultural changes in the study site Distribution and composition of advice Advice sharing networks Actor network position and actor attributes Institutional context and key actors of agricultural change Selected key actors in the sugarcane network Selected key actors in the rice network Discussion Local versus translocal: distribution and composition of advice Top-down versus bottom-up: innovation systems Translocal networks versus embodied experience: migration-related translocal knowledge transfers Intensification versus extensification: Viability of migration-related knowledge Conclusions Acknowledgements References Correction to: Do translocal networks matter for agricultural innovation? A case study on advice sharing in small-scale farming communities in Northeast Thailand Correction to: Agriculture and Human Values https​:doi.org10.1007s1046​0-019-09935​-0 Food sovereignty in place: Cuba and Spain Abstract Introduction Setting the scene: spaces of food sovereignty Place matters Background Food sovereignty in place Sites of exchange Confronting food sovereignty Reflections from home Conclusion Acknowledgements References Understanding the relationship between farmers and burrowing mammals on South African farms: are burrowers friends or foes? Abstract Introduction Materials and methods Study area Study species Data collection Statistical analyses Results The characteristics of farmer respondents How knowledgeable are farmers on the ecology of burrowing mammals? How tolerant are farmers of burrowing mammals on their farms? What management techniques are implemented to control burrowing mammals? Factors that influence farmer knowledge, intolerance and management Discussion How knowledgeable are farmers on the ecology of burrowing mammals? How tolerant are farmers of burrowing mammals on their farms? Which species do farmers set out to manage? Different values attached to different species The relationship between knowledge, tolerance and management Conclusions Acknowledgements References Value structures determining community supported agriculture: insights from Germany Abstract Introduction CSA and basic human values Conceptual framework and methods Results Replication of Schwartz value theory with CSA members Differences in value orientations between CSA members and the German population Discussion Practical and theoretical implications Limitations Further research Conclusion Acknowledgements References Livelihood strategies and household resilience to food insecurity: insight from a farming community in Aguie district of Niger Abstract Introduction Methods Conceptual framework Sampling technique and data collection Empirical method Components description and analysis method Access to basic services (ABS) Adaptive capacity (AC) Assets (A) Income and food access (IFA) Social safety nets (SSN) Stability (S) Results Livelihood strategies Resilience Access to basic services (ABS) Adaptive capacity (AC) Assets (A) Income and food access (IFA) Social safety nets (SSN) Stability (S) Resilience index measurement (RI) Discussion Conclusion Acknowledgements References Translocal practices and proximities in short quality food chains at the periphery: the case of North Swedish farmers Abstract Introduction Short food supply chains Proximity matters Analytical framework The case study approach: method, context and relevance Results Beyond certification: the emergence of quasi-organic food niches Translocal communities of quality food practices Discussion: the works of proximity in shaping food niches at the periphery Conclusions Acknowledgements References NGO perspectives on the social and ethical dimensions of plant genome-editing Abstract Introduction Background Plant genome editing NGOs in the debate about agricultural biotechnology The social and ethical dimensions of agricultural biotechnology Methods and research design Results Power and control Terminology Consumer choice Problemsolution framings Discussion Conclusion Acknowledgements References Subverting the new narrative: food, gentrification and resistance in Oakland, California Abstract Introduction Understanding gentrification through critical food studies Research approach Resistance as a business model Direct action Policy and planning Discussion and conclusion Acknowledgements References Parent activists versus the corporation: a fight for school food sovereignty Abstract Introduction Neoliberalism and school food School food sovereignty The study Methodology and researcher positionality The journey to overthrow a corporation Desire for local autonomy and benefits Parent activist distrust of and frustration with the corporation Slow and steady does not win this race Where do we go from here? Influence of other places on local parent activism Finding other districts who ousted corporations The union complication Implications Defeating Goliath School food: the local and the global Toward school food sovereignty In short, school food sovereignty Participatory High-quality food Cultural congruence with communities Ethical, local economics Environmentally sustainable Attentive to justice (labor, humane) Epilogue Acknowledgements References Introduction to the symposium: rethinking food system transformation—food sovereignty, agroecology, food justice, community action and scholarship Symposium contributions Conclusion and future directions Acknowledgements References Food justice, intersectional agriculture, and the triple food movement Abstract Introduction The mainstream U.S. “food movement” context: corporate agriculture and local food The food justice movement From West Oakland to Detroit: the case of black farmers The West Oakland farmers market The Detroit black community food security network Queer food justice activism in the eco-queer movement Queer youth programming at bushwick campus farm Queer farmers in Northern California Queer food justice activism Conclusion Acknowledgements References Pockets of peasantness: small-scale agricultural producers in the Central Finger Lakes region of upstate New York Abstract Introduction Peasants in the United States? Subsistence production within the substantive economy Intrinsic and extrinsic conditions of farming Farming in the Central Finger Lakes Region in upstate New York Methodology and research design Self-sufficiency and co-sufficiency Community and cooperation Subsistence-oriented farming in a capitalist world Subsistence-orientation as social struggle Repeasantization in the Central Finger Lakes Conclusion and discussion Acknowledgements References Action research on organizational change with the Food Bank of the Southern Tier: a regional food bank’s efforts to move beyond charity Abstract Introduction Literature review Theories and definitions of hunger and poverty Economic crisis, growing inequality, and poverty: impacts in New York State The emergency food regime: critiques and contradictions Methods: action research for organizational change Findings Discursive change in FBST’s strategic plans Advocacy, education and its impacts on participants Phases of organizational change Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Discussion and analysis of changes in organizational practices from 2008 to 2018 Defining the problem and its solutions Conclusions Reflections about collaborative inquiry and AR Reflections on organizational change Implications Acknowledgements References Gardens and Green Spaces: placemaking and Black entrepreneurialism in Cleveland, Ohio Abstract Introduction Literature review: community development, placemaking, and entrepreneurialism Placemaking and entrepreneurialism Placemaking and philanthropic capital Historical geographical background The gardens and green spaces pilot program Methods, data collection, and project evaluation Placemaking and entrepreneurship at the intersection of art, culture, and food Discussion Conclusion Acknowledgements References Participatory plant breeding and social change in the Midwestern United States: perspectives from the Seed to Kitchen Collaborative Abstract Introduction The Seed to Kitchen Collaborative Priority setting Implementation Outreach Seed to Kitchen success: connecting plant breeding to social movements for food system change Plant breeding for organic systems and regional agriculture Participatory research in organic and local food movements of the Global North Seed to Kitchen Opportunities: plant breeding, seed sovereignty and food justice Community seed sovereignty Intellectual property rights Food justice initiatives Ways forward Conclusion Acknowledgements References To save the bees or not to save the bees: honey bee health in the Anthropocene Abstract Introduction The Anthropocene Honey bee health challenges Methods The conventional approach to honey bee health A more “natural” approach? Apiculture in the Anthropocene Novel ecologies and shifting baselines Hybridity Bees as “ghosts” Bees as “things” Bees as both? Not-so-natural selection and fitness Conclusion Acknowledgements References Todd LeVasseur: Religious agrarianism and the return of place: from values to practice in sustainable agriculture References Andrew Fisher: Big hunger: the unholy alliance between corporate America and anti-hunger groups Michelle Bastian, Owain James, Niamh Moore, and Emma Roe (eds): Participatory research in more-than-human worlds Shane Hamilton: Supermarket USA: food and power in the cold war farms race Books received