“Nearby and Natural”: Towards a Differential Geography of Organic Farming In
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“Nearby and Natural”: Towards a Differential Geography of Organic Farming in South-Eastern Ontario By Melanie Sommerville, B.Sc. (Honours) A thesis submitted to: The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Arts Department of Geography and Environmental Studies Carleton University © Melanie Sommerville, June 2006 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be includedBien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. i * i Canada Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract Organic farming movements in Canada are growing rapidly and attracting increased attention from farmers, consumers, governments, and academics. Drawing on interviews with organic farmers in South-eastern Ontario, this thesis examines key discourses in the organic farming movement around naturalizing agricultural production and localizing the agricultural economy. The thesis shows that these discourses emerge as a critique of the industrialized and globalized agricultural system that predominates in Canada, and are central to farmers’ efforts to regain a sense of agency in the processes of agricultural development. These discourses also challenge notions of the natural and the social, the local and the global as ontologically distinct, positing new visions, identities and responsibilities that instead frame these as interdependent and mutually constitutive realms. Finally, the thesis explores the intersection of these discourses with processes of institutionalization and conventionalization, examining the possible implications for the practice and development of organic agriculture in this region. Key words: organic farming; organic agriculture; nature; society; local; global ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements There are many people whose wisdom and support underpin this thesis. First and foremost, I would like to thank the organic farmers who participated in my research, who welcomed me onto their farms, and who were so generous with their time, thoughts, and insights. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have been able to work with a group of people who are so passionate and deeply inspiring, and who have been so warmly encouraging of all of my efforts. I would also like to thank my thesis co-supervisors, Dr. Fiona Mackenzie and Dr. Simon Dalby, who introduced me to and helped me to understand many new and important ideas, and who were always ready to entertain my difficult questions, even when some of them were asked repeatedly. I am also grateful for the help of Iain Wallace in making sure the thesis could be defended in a timely manner. Funding from the Social Sciences Research Council of Canada helped me to undertake the research. The friendship of two colleagues from the Master’s program has been particularly inspiring over the course of my research. I am extremely grateful to May Chazan and Emily Wilson, whose support and willingness to join me in re-examining and debating some of the most fundamental aspects of the world have certainly contributed to the thinking behind this thesis. Christopher Caners and Damian Crawley both offered support at critical moments which helped me to keep moving forward. And I am tremendously grateful to Brian Egan, whose solid feedback on many early drafts certainly made this a stronger piece, and whose broader support I very deeply appreciate. Finally, I would like to thank my family, for all of their encouragement along the way. Thank you, all, for believing, and for helping me to do so too. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Abstract.....................................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgements............................................................................................................... iii List of Tables.......................................................................................................................... vi List of Appendices.................................................................................................................vii Chapter 1: Introduction.........................................................................................................I Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework and Methodology....................................................8 Political Ecology...................................................................................................................9 Structural Political Ecology...........................................................................................11 Poststructural Political Ecology.....................................................................................13 Social Nature.......................................................................................................................25 The Social Construction of Place...................................................................................... 29 Methodology.......................................................................................................................33 Research Methods .......................................................................................................... 37 Reflections on the Research Experience...................................................................... 45 Introducing the Farmers .....................................................................................................48 Chapter 3: Agriculture in Canada: from ‘Productivism’ to ‘Organics’......................54 Part 1: The Political Economy of Agriculture in Canada................................................55 Agriculture from 1945 until the 1970s: The Rise of Productivist Agriculture..........55 Agriculture since the 1970s: Neoliberalism and the Farm Income Crisis................. 59 Rising Concerns around Environmental Degradation and Food Safety..................... 65 A New Regulatory Regime for Canadian Agriculture.................................................67 The Increasing Influence of Agribusiness and Retailers ............................................ 69 The Emergence of Post-Productivist Agriculture?......................................................72 Alternative Food Movements....................................................................................... 74 Organic Farming as an Alternative Food Movement..................................................76 Part 2: The Emergence of Organic Farming in the Canada ............................................ 77 The Roots of Modern Organic Agriculture Movements............................................. 77 The Development of the Organic Farming Movement in Canada..............................81 Recognition and Support for Organic Farming........................................................... 85 Key Issues and Debates in Organic Agriculture Today...............................................91 Chapter 4: Organic farming and the naturalization of the agricultural production process...................................................................................................................................103 Introduction....................................................................................................................... 103 Naturalizing Agricultural Production............................................................................