Food Values and the Human Right to Food: a Sociological
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FOOD VALUES AND THE HUMAN RIGHT TO FOOD: A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF FOOD INSECURITY IN OREGON by CRAIG G. VAN PELT A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of Sociology and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2018 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Craig G. Van Pelt Title: Food Values and the Human Right to Food: A Sociological Analysis of Food Insecurity in Oregon This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of Sociology by: Michael Dreiling Co-Chair Matt Norton Co-Chair Greg McLauchlan Core Member Galen Martin Core Member Stephen Wooten Institutional Representative and Sara D. Hodges Interim Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded June 2018 ii © 2018 Craig G. Van Pelt iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Craig G. Van Pelt Doctor of Philosophy Department of Sociology June 2018 Title: Food Values and the Human Right to Food: A Sociological Analysis of Food Insecurity in Oregon Treating food as a commodity is a dominant mode of valuing food in the United States, and around the world, in which people exchange money for food. But in a world that can feed over 10-billion people why is poverty still a primary barrier to food security? This dissertation adds to the food justice and political economy literature by arguing that food insecurity will linger far into the future, despite technological advancements, because of the current food system which values food as a commodity instead of valuing food as a human right. Through an analysis of 23 semi-structured interviews with volunteers and workers in Oregon, and field research at a community garden, this dissertation highlights how even in the minds of people who advocate for food as a human right, the human right to food may only a right to people with enough money. This research illuminates how thinking of food as a money-exchange commodity builds a socially constructed wall between hungry people and abundant food. iv CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Craig G. Van Pelt GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene University of Colorado, Colorado Springs DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy, Sociology, 2018, University of Oregon Master of Science, Sociology, 2013, University of Oregon Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, 2011, University of Colorado AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Sociology of Food Social Inequalities Environmental Health Sociology of Developing Areas Food Security PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Graduate Teaching Fellow, Department of Sociology, University of Oregon 2011-2018 GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Julie and Rocky Dixon Graduate Student Innovation Award University of Oregon, 2016 Promising Scholar Award University of Oregon, 2011 v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, this research would not be possible without the cooperation of many people across the state of Oregon. Farmers, consumers, educators, nonprofit workers, and others who took time to share their thoughts and experiences with me. They opened their homes, offices, and kitchens to me. Some even fed me while I asked them questions. Thank you to the Oregon Community Garden who allowed me to do the bulk of my dissertation research at their site. From the summer of 2016 to the summer of 2017 I served as an intern at the Oregon Community Garden. I learned about how the Oregon Community Garden functioned, who participated, its challenges and successes, and learned a wealth of plant growing knowledge. I am very thankful for their openness, help, and enthusiasm for this project. I am sincerely appreciative for Dr. Matt Norton and Dr. Michael Dreiling, who provided academic support and guidance. Additional appreciation goes to Greg McLauchlan, Stephen Wooten, and Galen Martin for their help and suggestions. This project was supported in part through the Julie and Rocky Dixon Graduate Student Innovation Award at the University of Oregon. To my mom, thank you for teaching me how to read. To my aunt (who passed before seeing the completion of this project), thank you for being one of my biggest cheerleaders. Thank you to my wife Diane. Some nights she took empty plates from my desk, when I was so intent on writing that I didn’t even realize I had eaten. She responded with the proper amount of rational thinking when I wanted to punt my malfunctioning laptop. Diane responded with the proper amount of frustration to my frustrations, and she has also been a positive encouragement. Thank you. vi Aunt Jonda vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 Neoliberalism and the Exchange-Value of Food ................................................ 3 The Human Right to Food ................................................................................. 7 Community Gardens .......................................................................................... 9 Goals ................................................................................................................. 11 Research Questions ...................................................................................... 11 Methods ....................................................................................................... 12 The Rest of this Dissertation ........................................................................ 15 II. FOOD INSECURITY: HUNGER AT THE STATE AND LOCAL LEVELS ..... 18 Prelude to Yet Another Crisis ............................................................................ 18 Foreshadowing Capitalism’s Next Food Crisis .................................................. 18 The Crisis of Capitalism .................................................................................... 19 Capitalism’s Food Crisis .................................................................................... 22 Capitalism’s Food Crisis as Structural Violence ........................................... 24 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 25 viii Chapter Page III. RATIONALIZING FOOD INSECURITY: A BRIEF HISTORY ..................... 28 The Alienation of Exchange-Value .................................................................... 32 Hunger in an Exchange-Value World ................................................................ 34 Default Explanations for Food Insecurity ........................................................... 38 Carrying Capacity, Land, & Water ............................................................... 38 Climate Change ........................................................................................... 42 World Food Insecurity ....................................................................................... 44 Thinking about Food ......................................................................................... 48 Alienation .................................................................................................... 48 Financial Food Sovereignty: Food with Stigma and Food with Dignity ........ 49 Foucault and Financial Food Sovereignty .................................................... 51 Stripping Human Rights Away without Feeling Guilty ................................ 55 Food Movements ............................................................................................... 57 Food Security .............................................................................................. 59 Food Justice ................................................................................................. 59 Food Sovereignty ......................................................................................... 60 A Brief World History of Food Insecurity.......................................................... 61 The Irish Potato Famine, 1845 ..................................................................... 62 Russia’s Famines ......................................................................................... 63 Bengal Famine, 1943 ................................................................................... 65 Great Chinese Famine, 1959 ........................................................................ 65 Ethiopia, 1983-1985 .................................................................................... 66 ix Chapter Page North Korea Famine, 1994-1995 .................................................................. 66 Somalia, 2010-2012 ..................................................................................... 67 Syrian Civil War, 2011-present .................................................................... 69 USA Food Insecurity ......................................................................................... 70 Food Aid ..................................................................................................... 71 Food Banks and Food Pantries ..................................................................... 73 Food Gleaners.............................................................................................. 75 Farmers Markets and CSAs ......................................................................... 77 Food Insecurity in Oregon, USA ....................................................................... 78