UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABLE

AGRICULTURERick Welsh

Professor of SociologyClarkson University

Potsdam, NYwww.clarkson.edu/~welshjr

Conventional/Industrial agriculture has social and

environmental implications. Social analyses of the industrialization of agriculture, use as a starting

point aspects of U.S. agricultural structure largely, but not universally, characteristic of the agricultural industry during the mid-to-late 19th and early 20th centuries. The characteristics include the following.

Large numbers of farms of a relatively modest size by today’s standards.

Farms employ on-farm processing or are tied to local and regional processing firms of various types which employ local labor.

A farm labor force composed mostly of family members, with women and children involved significantly in the production process.

Production for household consumption with surplus production sold on open local or regional markets.

Knowledge production dominated by farming experience and emphasizing unique management practices and farm-generated or local resources.

Cooperative ties between farming families and the local community to enable production. 

As the 20th century progresses these characteristics of agriculture structure and

practice change.

Farm numbers drop (7 million in the 1935 and about 2 million in 2007- #’s increasing now!).

A small minority of these 2 million produce the vast amount of food.

There are a few very large farms and a large number of small to very small farms with a disappearing middle (Lyson, Stevenson and Welsh (2008)- shameless plug).

Narrow genetic crop and animal base with increase in purchased inputs to enable production.

Separation of crop and animal production. Spatial separation of stages in livestock production.

…more

Separation of production work and ownership of the factors of production coordination, contracts and integration.

Very concentrated processing sectors in all major commodities.

Family members less involved in production. Larger labor force imported to keep costs low. Farmers caught in cost-price squeeze whereby the

production-marketing-processing system maximizes profit for off-farm firms at the expense of farm families “I can’t work hard enough or make enough to pay my bills!” “My children don’t want to farm.”

Focus on bad managers versus good managers and not the structure of the system where it belongs.

Negative Social Impacts

Concentrated production and processing leads to depopulation of rural communities.

Farming and rural residents alienated due to externalities and lack of direct connections.

Health impacts from industrialized farming practices on farmers, laborers and rural residents (see Agriculture Health Study).

Farm household members alienated from production and stressed due to debt and technological treadmills.

Undocumented worker importation into rural communities further alienates communities, farmers and farm workers from each other. Political reaction to foreign workers deepens predicament of farmers,

workers and communities (social justice concerns). Coordination and integration reduce farm-level managerial control. Dominant production practices stemming from structure of

agriculture alienate consumers.

Enter Sustainable Agriculture.What have been major successes and

what are some of the social implications?

Organic Agriculture. especially when based on ecologically complex approaches driven in large part by consumer demand less alienation can address cost-price squeeze and health impacts

Direct Markets (local), Value Chains (incl. Fair Trade) and Civic Agriculture (KYF2). addresses cost-price squeeze and reconnects farmers and

consumers and communities increases number of small farms and processing plants (labor

source?) Management Intensive Rotational Grazing

works in sectors where farmers can access markets directly or through traditional spot markets or marketing contracts

lowers input costs (including hired labor?) and reduces stress on animals and potentially people

Sustainability is a social problem

Shift to sustainability driven by social concerns about important social problems.

Intent is to alter economic and technological systems to better balance production, ecological, quality of life and social equity/justice goals.

These themes are embedded in the sus ag literature (e.g., Civic Agriculture); but, not much research on the social aspects of sustainability.

Research on social aspects of sustainability needed to reach next level of sustainability.

What should be done?

Research on social aspects can take a number of forms

1) Include social impacts of proposed research as a requirement what is potential social impact of new cover crop and its adoption?

There are always social impacts for any change. May be valuable to force investigators to discern what these

might be and implications.

2) Pick a few concrete topics of particular salience and include in RFP. For example,

Competition versus cooperation among farmers in farmers’ markets.

Participatory labor allocation among household members to increase efficiency, reduce stress and increase satisfaction.

Accessing available informational, financial and family support resources: how successful are farmers in doing this?

Other examples…

Organizing farmers to identify and address collectively persistent social problems.

Effectiveness of local food councils. Effectiveness of land-link programs. Promoting socially acceptable technological

change in agriculture engaging scientists and science.

Establishing deliberative communication (talking and listening) mechanisms among consumers, farmers, parts of the supply chain, community members etc., beyond price signals and regulations.

Also,

3) Fund projects that seek to understand the social origins of technological and ecological issues (a.k.a. full employment for social scientists).• For example, how did the research of Justus

von Liebeg prevail over Sir Albert Howard’s approach; and, what are the implications for agriculture today?

• Such research provides insights about our social and economic systems that are useful for making desired social change right now.

Questions?