Organic futures
Subtitle: struggling for sustainability on the small farm
By: Connor J. Fitzmaurice and Brian J. Gareau
Contributors: Gareau, Brian J., 1973- author
Series: Agrarian studies series; Yale agrarian studies
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 301
ISBN-13: 9780300199451
Subjects: Small Farms; Sustainable agriculture; Organic farming
Description: In recent years, the popularity of organically grown produce has exploded. In 2014, organic fruits and vegetables accounted for 12% of all produce sales in the United States, with $39 billion in consumer sales reported for 2015. As a federally recognized niche market within the agricultural mainstream, organic farming is increasingly on display in American grocery stores. Yet the organic food most Americans consume today is produced by an industrial food system at odds with the practices and ideals of small-scale farmers. Taking an ethnographic approach, the fieldwork by Connor Fitzmaurice and Brian Gareau at a small New England organic farm sheds light on how farmers navigate the difficult terrain between practices of sustainability and the economic realities of contemporary agriculture. Drawing on extensive research, Fitzmaurice and Gareau examine the historical context, complexities, and viability of nonconventional organic farming practices: practices that seek to balance ecology and community with the business of agriculture.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-288) and index.
Table of contents: title: Part 1. Market. Making sense of organics : a brief history; title: Organic hits mainstream; title: Why supermarket organic matters; title: Part 2. Land. Prelude : a sense of place; title: Amid the chard : cultivating the diverse landscapes and practices of a New England organic farm; title: Who farms?; title: A sea of brown bags and the organic label : organic marketing strategies in practice; title: No-nonsense organic : negotiating everyday concerns about the environment, health, and the aesthetics of farming; title: Conclusion : an alternative agriculture for our time; title: Appendix : method and approach.