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The Farmer and the Food Regime: Hegemony and the Free Market Frame in Rural Ontario

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The Farmer and the Food Regime: Hegemony and the Free Market Frame in Rural Ontario The Farmer and the Food Regime: Hegemony and the Free Market Frame in Rural Ontario by Melisa J. Luymes A thesis presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Melisa J. Luymes, September 2012 i ABSTRACT The Farmer and the Food Regime: Hegemony and the Free Market Frame in Rural Ontario Melisa Luymes Advisor: September, 2012 Professor Anthony Winson This thesis is an investigation into the frames and implicit concepts that drive the current trend of corporate-led agriculture, now known as the Third Food Regime. I consider whether this neoliberal regime is hegemonic in rural Ontario, that is, whether the dominant ideology of the corporate ruling class is reflected in and perpetuated by our farmers, despite it being against their best interests. I employ a critical approach, using mixed methods – participant observation of general farm organizations, content analysis of the farm media in Ontario and in-depth interviews with farmers in Wellington County – and find strong evidence of a free market frame in rural Ontario. This thesis outlines the dimensions and dangers of the existing frame in hopes that alternative agricultural models can again be considered. ii Dedications This thesis is dedicated to farmers here and around the world, though you deserve more than these mere words… … and especially to my favourite farmer, my dad – for passing on the torch and then trusting me wherever I ran with it. iii Acknowledgements So many people have played a role in bringing the project to this point. Firstly, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Tony Winson, and my committee member, Dr. Jennifer Sumner, for their support, advice and faith in this project. I’m also grateful to my external examiner, Dr. Glen Filson, for his insight and to both Dr. Linda Hunter and Dr. Vivian Shalla for their personal and academic support. I also owe much to Shelagh Daly, my ‘grad mom,’ for ensuring this whole process went smoothly and for being a good friend as well. Of course, I’m very grateful to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, along with the University of Guelph, for the financial contributions that allowed me to focus whole-heartedly on this project. Finally, I would like to thank all of my friends, family and neighbours in Mapleton for their support over the past two years. I’m grateful to all the farmers that were willing to speak with me and especially thankful to my family for their candid perspectives at the dinner table and for enduring my constant barrage of rants and questions. iv List of Figures Figure 1 - Mapleton Township, Statistics Canada .................................................................... 70 Figure 2- Farm Types by Percentage of Total Farms (2006 Ag Census) ................................... 71 v Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................... ii Dedications .............................................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. iv List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................... vi Chapter [1] - Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter [2] - Theoretical Foundations ..................................................................................................... 4 Sociology of Agriculture.................................................................................................................... 4 Structure / Agency ............................................................................................................................ 5 Chapter [3] - Literature Review ................................................................................................................ 7 The Transformation of Agriculture ....................................................................................................... 7 Origins of Capitalism ........................................................................................................................ 8 The Agrarian Question and the Failure of Agrarian Capitalism ....................................................... 9 The First Food Regime (1870-1930s) .............................................................................................. 13 Farmers Fight Back ......................................................................................................................... 15 The Great Depression and State Intervention ................................................................................ 16 The Second Food Regime (1950 – 1970s) ....................................................................................... 17 The Tide of Neoliberalism ............................................................................................................... 18 Current State of Agriculture ........................................................................................................... 21 Canadian Agriculture ...................................................................................................................... 25 Impact on Agricultural Communities .............................................................................................. 27 The Role of the State ...................................................................................................................... 28 A Third Food Regime?..................................................................................................................... 29 Consumers Fight Back .................................................................................................................... 30 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 31 Hegemony on the Farm ...................................................................................................................... 32 Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) ........................................................................................................ 33 Language and Moral Frames ......................................................................................................... 36 Collective Action Frames ................................................................................................................ 38 vi Manufacturing Consent through the Media .................................................................................. 39 Farm Frames ................................................................................................................................... 40 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 43 Farmers’ Worldviews ......................................................................................................................... 44 Behaviors and Attitudes ................................................................................................................. 45 Self-Identities .................................................................................................................................. 48 Rural ‘Cultures’ ............................................................................................................................... 50 Political Ideology ............................................................................................................................ 53 …So Who Do We Start Fighting? .................................................................................................... 56 Agrarian Radicalism in Ontario ...................................................................................................... 58 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 63 Chapter [4] - Methods and Research Questions .................................................................................... 65 Positionality .................................................................................................................................... 66 Methods ............................................................................................................................................. 68 Participant Observation ................................................................................................................. 68 Interviews ....................................................................................................................................... 69 Agricultural Media.......................................................................................................................... 72 Research Questions ...........................................................................................................................
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