The Fight Over Food: Producers, Consumers, and Activists Challenge the Global Food System (Rural Studies Series) PDF
Preview The Fight Over Food: Producers, Consumers, and Activists Challenge the Global Food System (Rural Studies Series)
M id W den& rig d h o t r f “One problem with the food system is that price is the bottom line rather than having the bottom line be land stewardship, an appreciation for the environmental and social value P r o of small-scale family farms, or for organically grown produce.” d uT c e —Interview with farmer in Skagit County, Washington rH s , C oE For much of the later twentieth century, food has been abundant and convenient for most residents of n s u advanced industrial societies. The luxury of taking the safety and dependability of food for granted pushed it mF e to the back burner in the consciousness of many. Increasingly, however, this once taken-for-granted food sys- rsI ,G tem is coming under question on issues such as the humane treatment of animals, genetically engineered an d foods, and social and environmental justice. Many consumers are no longer content with buying into the AH c mainstream, commodity-driven food market on which they once depended. Resistance has emerged in tivT is diverse forms, from protests at the opening of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide to ever-greater interest in ts CO alternatives, such as CSAs(community-supported agriculture), fair trade, and organic foods. The food system h a isincreasingly becoming an arena of struggle that reflects larger changes in societal values and norms, as lleV expectations are moving beyond the desire for affordable, convenient foods to a need for healthy and envi- ngE e ronmentally sound alternatives. In this book, leading scholars and scholar-activists provide case studies that tR h illuminate the complexities and contradictions that surround the emergence of a “new day” in agriculture. e G loF The essays found in The Fight Over Foodanalyze and evaluate both the theoretical and historical contexts of baO l the agrifood system and the ways in which trends of individual action and collective activity have led to an F oO “accumulation of resistance” that greatly affects the mainstream market of food production. The overarching o d D theme that integrates the case studies is the idea of human agency and the ways in which people purposely S y s and creatively generate new forms of action or resistance to facilitate social changes within the structure of t e m predominant cultural norms. Together these studies examine whether these combined efforts will have the THE FIGHT OVER strength to create significant and enduring transformations in the food system. FOOD Wynne Wright and Gerad Middendorf Wynne Wrightis Assistant Professor of Community,Food, and Agriculture at Michigan State University. Gerad Middendorfis Associate Professor of Sociology at Kansas State University. Producers, Consumers, and Activists RURAL STUDIES SERIES ISBN 978-0-271-03275-7 Challenge the Global Food System 90000 THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA WWW.PSUPRESS.ORG 9 780271 032757 Edited by Wynne Wright and Gerad Middendorf PENN STATE PRESS 00Front.qxd 10/25/2007 2:21 PM Page i THE FIGHT OVER FOOD 00Front.qxd 10/25/2007 2:21 PM Page ii 00Front.qxd 10/25/2007 2:21 PM Page iii THE FIGHT OVER FOOD Producers, Consumers, and Activists Challenge the Global Food System Wynne Wright and Gerad Middendorf The Pennsylvania State University Press University Park, Pennsylvania 00Front.qxd 10/25/2007 2:21 PM Page iv Disclaimer: Some images in the original version of this book are not available for inclusion in the eBook. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The fight over food :producers,consumers,and activists challenge the global food system / [edited by] Wynne Wright and Gerad Middendorf. p.cm.— (Rural studies series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ----(cloth :alk.paper) ----(pbk.:alk.paper) .Food supply—Social aspects. .Agriculture–Social aspects. I.Wright,Wynne. II.Middendorf,Gerad. III.Series:Rural studies series (University Park,Pa.). .. .´—dc Copyright © The Pennsylvania State University All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Published by The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park,PA - The Pennsylvania State University Press is a member of the Association of American University Presses. It is the policy of The Pennsylvania State University Press to use acid-free paper.This book is printed on Natures Natural,containing % post-consumer waste,and meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Material,.–. 00Front.qxd 10/25/2007 2:21 PM Page v CONTENTS Acknowledgments vii Introduction Fighting Over Food:Change in the Agrifood System Wynne Wright and Gerad Middendorf part i.conceptual framework Agency and Resistance in the Sociology of Agriculture and Food Alessandro Bonanno and Douglas H.Constance Agency and the Agrifood System William H.Friedland Resistance,Agency,and Counterwork: A Theoretical Positioning Norman Long part ii.case studies:making room for agency Counterhegemony or Bourgeois Piggery? Food Politics and the Case of FoodShare Josée Johnston Resistance,Redistribution,and Power in the Fair Trade Banana Initiative Aimee Shreck Sustaining Outrage:Cultural Capital,Strategic Location,and Motivating Sensibilities in the U.S.Anti–Genetic Engineering Movement William A.Munro and Rachel A.Schurman Social Life and Transformation in Salmon Fisheries and Aquaculture Michael Skladany 00Front.qxd 10/25/2007 2:21 PM Page vi vi contents part iii.case studies:constraints to agency Infertile Ground:The Struggle for a New Puerto Rican Food System Amy Guptill Possibilities for Revitalizing Local Agriculture: Evidence from Four Counties in Washington State Raymond A.Jussaume Jr.and Kazumi Kondoh Consumers and Citizens in the Global Agrifood System: The Cases of New Zealand and South Africa in the Global Red Meat Chain Keiko Tanaka and Elizabeth Ransom Conclusion: From Mindful Eating to Structural Change Wynne Wright and Gerad Middendorf Index 00Front.qxd 10/25/2007 2:21 PM Page vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Like the individual,collective,and institutional work required for transform- ing our agrifood system,this book is the product of a similar collaboration. The momentum for this project originated with the creative energies of members of the International Sociological Association’s Research Commit- tee on Agriculture and Food (rc-).In June the editors of this volume organized and convened a two-day miniconference in Austin,Texas,entitled “Resistance and Agency in Contemporary Agriculture and Food:Empirical Cases and New Theories.”This event brought together scholars and scholar- activists committed to assessing the multifarious changes under way in the agrifood system.We owe much to those at the miniconference for sharing their research and joining us on the path that would ultimately lead to The Fight Over Food. It is almost impossible to recall the many individuals who had a hand in this project from start to finish.From those who encouraged the project to those who offered words of advice along the way,we are indebted.We would like to begin by acknowledging William Friedland and Norman Long,who supported the development of this volume.Special thanks go to Ray Jussaume, Douglas Constance,and Patrick Mooney for their guidance at various stages. We also want to acknowledge Carmen Bain,Alessandro Bonanno,William Friedland,Amy Guptill,Elizabeth Ransom,and Keiko Tanaka for their dili- gent work in reviewing chapters and providing insightful and constructive commentary. As editor of the Rural Studies Series,Clare Hinrichs played a key role in encouraging the development of this project and applied her keen eye to numerous drafts.She was especially skilled at helping us fit the conceptual pieces together in the early stages.Peter Potter and Sanford Thatcher at Penn State University Press also proved exceptional in their ability to help us navi- gate the publishing process,providing much needed feedback and support. We also gratefully acknowledge the comprehensive review of this manuscript by two anonymous reviewers who invested an enormous amount of time and thought in helping us improve the work. 00Front.qxd 10/25/2007 2:21 PM Page viii viii acknowledgments Finally,colleagues and friends are often a sounding board for ideas in the germination stage.We greatly appreciate the collegiality of Kent Sandstrom, Jerry Stockdale,and Robert Schaeffer,who took the time to listen and pro- vided valuable perspective at times when we were mired in detail.This is surely a much improved book because of the efforts of this cadre of support- ers,but the editors and contributors alone take responsibility for any omis- sions,interpretive failings,and conceptual and methodological missteps. 00Front.qxd 10/25/2007 2:21 PM Page 1 introduction fighting over food: change in the agrifood system Wynne Wright and Gerad Middendorf Time magazine recently reported the story of a man in Ann Arbor,Michi- gan,who had been pulled over in his pickup truck by the state police for haul- ing illegal cargo.This was the culmination of a sting operation that resulted in seizure of the cargo.But this was no ordinary drug bust;the driver of the mud-splattered pickup truck was a dairy farmer dealing in raw milk (Cole ).A growing number of consumers,often from urban locales,are seek- ing out the warm,white liquid straight from the udder for what they perceive as its superior nutritional value.The Food and Drug Administration (fda) does not see it that way.The fda line is that unpasteurized milk contains E.coli,salmonella,and listeria—all risks to human health.It is illegal to trans- port raw milk across state lines,just as it is illegal to sell raw milk in twenty- three states.As a result,farmers and raw milk drinkers have found a creative way to circumvent this obstacle by partnering together to organize a small cooperative venture,known as a cow-share.It is legal to drink straight from your own cow,so by organizing a cow-share co-op,consumers are effectively drinking from the cow they own and partnering with the farmer to do the milking and caretaking.The confiscation of the raw milk has set off some- thing of a maelstrom in Michigan.Raw milk drinkers are a dedicated bunch; members of the farmer’s cow-share cooperative could not run fast enough to the aid of their farmer,offering support in numerous ways.It seems that this case is not so unique.People appear to be struggling over the meaning of raw milk—dubbed “real”milk by its supporters—in a number of states. New York, Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Nebraska, Colorado, Ari- zona—the raw milk crack down is spreading,while at the same time resist- ance is mounting.The conflict over raw milk and the growing divide among producers,consumers,and the state is merely the most recent example of a
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