Volume 59, No. 2, Summer 2000
The Industrial Food Stream and its Alternatives in the United States: An Introduction
Mark A. Grey
Vertical integration and concentration in hog production have made it difficult for small, family hog farms to survive. This article examines a small group of Iowa hog farmers who formed a cooperative to raise and sell "free-range" pork to niche markets. By forming a cooperative, these farmers actively sought to resist structural change in the pork industry. Despite the availability of markets and adequate hog supplies, this fledgling cooperative faced a number of obstacles, including social pressure from other farmers and disagreements about the adequacy of their hog-raising methods. The future of this cooperative is uncertain, and it faces an uphill battle against the dominant pork producers.
Key words: pork industry, agricultural restructuring, agricultural cooperatives, U.S.
Tobacco Barns and Chicken Houses: Agricultural Transformation in Western Kentucky
Donald D. Stull
Tobacco is Kentucky's principal cash crop and integral to its economy, history, and culture. As tobacco came under increasing attack in the 1990s, the poultry industry eagerly expanded into the state. Absent in 1990, by 1998 Kentucky was home to four large chicken processing plants and some 2,000 breeder, pullet, and broiler houses that supply them. The Tobacco Belt and the Corn Belt meet in western Kentucky's Webster County, where 227 chicken houses were built between 1995 and 1998. In 1998, the author returned to Webster County to study his birthplace at this time of rapid and profound change in its agricultural economy and way of life.
Key words: tobacco farmers, chicken farmers, agricultural transformation, Kentucky
A River Full of Fish: Industrial Catfish Production and the Decline of Commercial Fishing on the Upper Mississippi River
Randy Ziegenhorn
This paper explores the decline of commercial fishing on the upper Mississippi River. For much of the 20th century fishing provided work for many in river communities and an important buffer against fluctuations in the regional economy. In the late 1960s the introduction of pond-raised catfish from newly created fish farms in the southern United States created a source of uniform, mild-flavored, and untainted fish that satisfied the preferences of both the food industry and consumers. Demand for river fish, in particular catfish, collapsed. Today fish are plentiful in the Mississippi but low prices offer little incentive to independent fishers. Some fish processors, faced with declining local demand, have stepped up sales of river fish to markets as far away as New York. Other processors have opted not to fight the fish-farming industry and now distribute pond-raised catfish. This paper explores the complex social and economic forces that have reshaped local economies and the ecology of the river itself.
Keywords: fishing, fish farming, industrial agriculture, food, Mississippi River
"Those Bastards Can Go to Hell!" Small-Farmer Resistance to Vertical Integration and Concentration in the Pork Industry
Mark A. Grey
Vertical integration and concentration in hog production have made it difficult for small, family hog farms to survive. This article examines a small group of Iowa hog farmers who formed a cooperative to raise and sell "free-range" pork to niche markets. By forming a cooperative, these farmers actively sought to resist structural change in the pork industry. Despite the availability of markets and adequate hog supplies, this fledgling cooperative faced a number of obstacles, including social pressure from other farmers and disagreements about the adequacy of their hog-raising methods. The future of this cooperative is uncertain, and it faces an uphill battle against the dominant pork producers.
Key words: pork industry, agricultural restructuring, agricultural cooperatives, U.S.
Tasting Food, Tasting Sustainability: Defining the Attributes of an Alternative Food System with Competent, Ordinary People
Jack Kloppenburg, Jr., Sharon Lezberg, Kathryn De Master, George W. Stevenson, and John Hendrickson
Initiatives intended to create alternatives to the conventional, industrialized, global food system are now emerging. Conceptual framings of alternative food systems have been based principally on the reflections of academics and policy specialists rather than on the views of the producers and eaters who constitute the bulk of the food localization movement. At a conference hosted by the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, we explored the attributes of food system sustainability with 125 persons representing a broad cross section of the alternative farm/food community. Dividing into five discussion groups, participants were asked what the characteristics of a sustainable food system would be. From their statements we abstracted a set of attributes. Participants envisioned a sustainable food system as relational, proximate, diverse, ecologically sustainable, economically sustaining, just/ethical, sacred, knowledgeable/communicative, seasonal/temporal, healthful, participatory, culturally nourishing, and sustainably regulated. We explain these attributes and note their complementarities and tensions.
Keywords: sustainable agriculture, alternative agriculture, food systems, U.S.
Community-Supported Agriculture: A Sustainable Alternative to Industrial Agriculture?
Cynthia Abbott Cone, Andrea Myhre
Community-supported agriculture (CSA) seeks to create a direct relationship between farmers and those who eat their food--farm members or shareholders. Data from a five-year study of eight CSA farms is used to examine the perceptions and behavior of farm members in three different ways: their motivations for membership, the role of women in initiating and maintaining farm membership, and how the extent of membership participation relates to member perceptions about and commitment to their farms. We interpret the significance of our results using Gidden=s concept of modernity and Etzioni=s concept of communitarianism. Finally we raise questions about the long-term sustainability of CSA, given the lifestyle and needs of the farmers in tension with the constraints and competing values of shareholders.
Key words: agriculture, gender, modernity, community, communitarianism, CSA, U.S.
Transforming Organic Agriculture into Industrial Organic Products: Reconsidering National Organic Standards
Laura B. DeLind
The 1990 National Organic Food Production Act was enacted to establish the criteria and certification regulations that would give uniformity and credibility to organic processes and products--to define the organic label across the U.S. The promulgation of these standards has been a contentious issue, with purists pitted against pragmatists and attention focused almost exclusively on the development of a materials list for growers and manufacturers. The "organic rule" proposed in December 1997 generated widespread public protest that was also largely materials- and technology-focused. Conspicuously absent from the debate has been a critical concern over the long-term structural impacts of national standards themselves, especially at the regional or local level. This paper questions whether national standards designed to increase national and international commerce and thus "grow the industry" can produce anything other than a slightly "greener" version of the existing industrial agrofood system. Under these conditions, will the codification of organic undermine its capacity to support a socially and environmentally sustainable agriculture and food system? Will national standards get in the way of diverse, locally based solutions and, in the process, will the organic mindset be represented by conforming commodities rather than by more intimate and varied connections to place?
Key words: organic agriculture, organic movement, national standards, U.S.
Recognizing Farmer Environmentalism: Nutrient Runoff and Toxic Dinoflagellate Blooms in the Chesapeake Bay Region
Michael Paolisso and R. Shawn Maloney
Environmental anthropology can help make explicit the roles of beliefs, values, and experiences in the formation of cultural models. These cultural models allow individuals to understand complex environmental problems confronting their communities and threatening their livelihoods. We present results from an ongoing anthropological study of environment and pollution on Maryland's lower Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. We first focus on how farmers view themselves as equally if not more concerned about the environment than urban residents and identify key cultural themes or schemas that underlie farmer environmentalism. Next, we compare the views of farmers and environmental professionals on Pfiesteria through a correspondence analysis of key terms. In contrast to existing public opinion, farmers and environmental professionals are similar in their general knowledge and views on Pfiesteria. We conclude with arguments for integrating farmer environmentalism into ongoing programs and policies to control nutrient runoff and improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay region.
Key words: farmers, environmentalism, Pfiesteria, nutrient runoff, Chesapeake Bay
Human Capital, Wealth, Property Rights and the Adoption of New Farm Technologies: The Tawahka Indians of Honduras
Ricardo Godoy, Kathleen O'Neill, Kendra McSweeney, David Wilkie, VerÛnica Flores, David Bravo, Peter Kostishack, and Adoni Cubas
Interest in vanishing rain forests has led scholars to say that the adoption of new farm technologies such as improved plant varieties could increase yields, thus reducing deforestation. Results of past studies show that human capital (e.g., schooling, literacy), wealth, and security of land tenure help farmers adopt new farm technologies. These studies have focused on villages with tight links to the market and little land. Do results apply to more self-sufficient economies with ample land? Analysis of 101 households of Tawahka Indians in Honduras's rain forest suggests that education and knowledge of Spanish enhance adoption by facilitating the flow of information into the household and by making it easier for people to judge the quality of the technology. Wealth bore the expected positive correlation to adoption, but security of land tenure played a dual role: it encouraged the adoption of one technology (improved rice seeds) but it discouraged the adoption of the other technology (chemical herbicides). Policies to increase bilingual education may encourage adoption and benefit indigenous people and conservation.
Key words: technological adoption, education, land tenure, Tawahka, Honduras
Patterns, Factors, and Pathways Contributing to Nutritional Risk Among Rural African American Elders
Nancy E. Schoenberg
In the United States, the increasing life expectancy and burgeoning older population have raised concerns about the adequate provision of health care for chronic medical conditions. One fundamental factor in the prevention and management of medical conditions is optimal dietary intake, which is notably lacking among older adults. Most researchers investigating factors associated with suboptimal diets limit their studies to developing nutritional risk profiles, and many conclude by advocating patient education. Using telephone surveys and in-depth interviews, this article identifies particularly vulnerable elders and explores the contextual and experiential pathways that place individuals at nutritional risk. Surveys of African American and white elders indicate that rural African American elders are disproportionately at risk of inadequate nutrition. In-depth interviews revealed four pathways to nutritional risk, including transitions in the social and physical significance of food, inaccessibility of resources, increased physical limitations, and inadequate or inappropriate dietary advice. Informants also identified a number of creative approaches to ensure a modicum of food security, including relying on supportive others, purchasing and preparation strategies, and hoarding. The article concludes by offering recommendations for improving nutritional status among elders that extend beyond the development of risk profiles and nutritional education.
Key words: elders, nutritional risk, rural, African Americans, U.S.
Community Assessment and Planning for Maternal and Child Health Programs: A Participatory Approach in Ethiopia
Karabi Bhattacharyya and John Murray
This paper describes the use of a participatory approach to community assessment and planning in Ethiopia. The purpose of the assessment was for government health staff and community members to jointly identify and prioritize maternal and child health problems and develop a plan to solve them. Activities were conducted in five woredas (districts) in the Southern Nations and Nationalities People's Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia. Some of the key features of the approach were: 1) use of a limited number of maternal and child health behaviors as a "menu" to guide planning; 2) use of an integrated household survey that measures indicators of caretaker behaviors which must be changed to reduce the most important causes of childhood morbidity and mortality; 3) implementation by a team of community volunteers and health staff; 4) collection of data that can be used at the community level for planning and at district, zonal, and regional levels for project monitoring and evaluation; and 5) an emphasis on immediate use of information by community members and health staff to produce joint action plans. The community planning process resulted in:1) community action plans for the communities in five districts; 2) baseline data on key behaviors for monitoring and evaluation; and 3) trained staff at regional, zonal, and district levels. Community action plans included activities at both the facility and community levels, such as training of health workers, integration of health facility services, health education, and involvement of community organizations. The quantitative data were aggregated to provide baseline indicators for monitoring and evaluation. Follow-up data show changes in key child health behaviors.
Key words: community participation, child health, community planning, Ethiopia
Assessing the Success and Failure of Navajo Relocation
Orit Tamir
This paper analyzes forced relocation in the United States and compares it with international standards. It focuses on assessing relative success or failure of forced Navajo relocation in relationship to the two major analytical frameworks: Cernea's World Bank guidelines for planned relocation projects and Scudder's four-stage relocation model. The assessment demonstrates and explains why the relocating agency and, subsequently, the relocation process do not live up to the World Bank guidelines and to Scudder's four-stage relocation model. In addition, it also reveals that the United States' inadequate policies vis-a-vis Native Americans continue today.
Key words: relocation, assessment, World Bank, Scudder, Cernea, Navajo
