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Agrarian Science and Ecological Engagements in Southern Ontario Agriculture

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Agrarian Science and Ecological Engagements in Southern Ontario Agriculture Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 5-28-2019 12:00 PM Cultivating Knowledge: Agrarian Science and Ecological Engagements in Southern Ontario Agriculture Kelly Linton The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Walsh, Andrew The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Anthropology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Kelly Linton 2019 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Agriculture Commons, Biodiversity Commons, Biotechnology Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Food Studies Commons, Science and Technology Studies Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Linton, Kelly, "Cultivating Knowledge: Agrarian Science and Ecological Engagements in Southern Ontario Agriculture" (2019). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 6409. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/6409 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract Agriculture and climate change are interconnected processes, with agriculture implicated in rising green house gas emissions, deforestation, soil and water pollution, and reductions in biodiversity. Conversely, changes within ecology (including a warming climate), alter growing conditions for farmers. Farmers face changes in both temperature and precipitation, as well as an increase in adverse weather events that significantly threaten productivity and livelihoods. Based on 40 unstructured interviews as well as informal conversations conducted among farmers in southern Ontario, Canada between the spring of 2014 and the winter of 2017, this dissertation seeks to contribute to a growing body of work that focuses on the complex factors that shape farmer decision making in the face of environmental and climate concerns, while also paying particular attention to the role of farmers in southern Ontario as knowledge creators. This distinction is important in that it acknowledges that farmers are not just passive in the processes of adaptation, but are active in attempting to enhance their capacity and resiliency to climate change by taking part in practical experimentation and knowledge sharing. In a departure from much of the climate change literature in Canada, my analysis attends to the complex relationships among species that shape both farmer identity and ecological knowledge. Multi-species intimacies are integral to farming life and shape farmer decision making in unpredictable ways. This dissertation also critically engages with the concept of “science-based” research. With an emphasis on farmers’ contributions to enhancing resiliency to climate change while increasing environmental sustainability through agrarian science, this study examines the politics surrounding the concept of “science” and how it is manifested in discussions of agriculture and the environment in the Canadian context. Farmers in southern Ontario are not just growing crops, they are “cultivating knowledge” by actively seeking out multiple sources of information, taking part in practical experimentation, and sharing knowledge with other farmers. This dissertation documents some of the ways these processes are unfolding as southern Ontario farmers seek to acquire and develop new methods of growing food that will help them adapt to the complex challenges associated with climate change. Keywords Climate Change; Agriculture; Ecology; Agrarian Science; Biodiversity; Resilience; Adaptation; Multi-species Ethnography; Knowledge; Slow Science !ii Acknowledgements It would have been impossible to complete this body of work if not for the support and contributions of a number of individuals and organizations. To the many farmers who brought me into their homes and their fields, who fed me and shared with me, who told me of their experiences and let me into their lives––thank you. Without your willingness to share your experiences and wisdom, this research would not have been possible. A special thank you to Karen who allowed my son to find eggs in her barn, pet her cows, and who always had words of encouragement. Your insight and support were invaluable. Thank you for bringing me to my first NFU-O local meeting and providing a gateway into the lives of farmers in southern Ontario. Another special thank you to Linda who gave me the privilege of volunteering on her farm, who taught me the importance of hard work, who provided much food for my family, and who continuously challenged me to think beyond my own experience. Thank you to the following organizations: the National Farmers Union of Ontario, the Ecological Farmers of Ontario, Seeds of Diversity, Everdale Farm, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, OMAFRA, and the Rural Voice. There are many wonderful individuals in each of these organizations that answered my questions, welcomed me at conferences and field days, and contributed greatly to this research. Thank you to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Doctoral Excellence Research Award, the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, the Regna Darnell Scholarship for Fieldwork in Sociocultural Anthropology, and the Department of Anthropology at Western for funding my research. Thank you to the Department of Anthropology at the University of Western Ontario. It is a privilege to be a part of a four-field department that is so integrated and supportive. A special thank you to my committee: Dr. Regna Darnell, Dr. Adriana Premat, Dr. Andrew Walsh and Dr. Tony Weis and to my external examiner Dr. Roger Lohmann. Your support and encouragement throughout my research has been invaluable. To my advisor Dr. Andrew Walsh––I couldn’t have done it without you. It has truly been a pleasure to learn from you. To my son Sifen––you are my inspiration, my everything. To my family: Mom, Dad, Steve and Dre––you encouraged me and always with love. Mom, you were right! To Nathan––you were my rock, my best friend, and you constantly challenged me to be better. I couldn’t have gotten here without you. Thanks for making grad school some of the best days of my life. !iii And to farmers everywhere––thank you for your stewardship and for feeding the world. !iv Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………….…..ii Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………iii List of Plates………………………………………………………………………….….vii List of Appendices………………………………………………………………………viii 1. Introduction––Confronting Climate Change and Agriculture……………………..1 1.1. Research Area…………………………………………………………………10 1.2. Research Methods––Methodological Malleability……………………………14 1.3. Theoretical Approach………………………………………………………..…20 1.4. Chapter Structure……………………………………………………………….26 2. Living and Farming in the “Capitalocene”…….…………………………….…….28 2.1. Humanity with Earth……………………………………………………………30 2.2. The Neolithic Revolution………………………………………………………..32 2.3. The “Age of Capital”…………………………………………………………….35 2.4. The “Colonial–Diasporic Food Regime”……………………………………..….37 2.5. The “Mercantile–Industrial Food Regime”………………………………..……38 2.6. The “Corporate–Environmental Food Regime”……………………………..….40 2.7. Food Regimes and the History of Farming in Canada…………………………..42 2.8. Current State of Farming in Canada…………………………………………….45 2.9. Farming Methods……………………………………………………………….57 2.10. Constructing “Good Farmer” Identity…………………………………………62 !v 2.11. Sustainable Agriculture……………………………………………………..…67 3. Relationships and Knowledge……………………………………………….……72 3.1. Learning to be a Farmer……………………………………………………..….72 3.2. A Phenomenological Foray………………………………………………….….85 3.3. The Rules of Engagement………………………………………………….…..92 4. Cultivating Knowledge……………………………………………………….…..99 4.1. Agrarian Science……………………………………………………………….100 4.2. “Science-Based”––the New Religion……………………………………….…115 4.3. A Politics of Destabilization––Experts in the “Field”………………………….125 5. Community Leaders - Leading the Charge…………………………………………129 5.1. Emily…………………………………………………………………………..132 5.2. Liam……………………………………………………………………………136 5.3. Edward…………………………………………………………………………140 5.4. Identity Economies and Hope for the Future?…………………………………143 6. Discussion…………………………………………………………………………..148 6.1. Reflections on Research………………………………………………………..157 6.2. A Politics of Mutual Enhancement and an Appeal for Slow Science………….160 References Cited……………………………………………………………………….167 Appendices…………………………………………………………………………….188 Curriculum Vitae……………………………………………………………………….197 !vi List of Plates Plate 1: Ecozones map: Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Government of Ontario 2018………………………………………………………………………………………………12 Plate 2: Field Day to learn about cover cropping strategies……………………………………..74 Plate 3: Chenopodium album L. - Lamb’s Quarters……………………………………………107 Plate 4: Draft horses working at a biodynamic farm in southern Ontario………………..….…108 !vii List of Appendices Appendix A: Advertisement placed in the Rural Voice in 2016………………………………..188 Appendix B: Sample of recruitment email sent to union local…………………………………189 Appendix C: Sample of recruitment email for potential research participant………………….190 Appendix D: Research Ethics Board Approval………………………………………………..191 Appendix E: Letter of Information/Consent…………………………………………………..192 !viii !1 1. Introduction––Confronting Climate Change and Agriculture It was a cool morning in mid-November. The sun was
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