Abstract LOUGHRIDGE, KENNETH BRANDON LANG. Community
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Abstract LOUGHRIDGE, KENNETH BRANDON LANG. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in the Mid-Atlantic United States: A Sociological Analysis. (Under the direction of Randall Thomson.) In response to the globalization of agriculture and the proliferation of convenience-based and processed foods, many Americans have joined community supported farms. Community supported agriculture (CSA) involves people paying a seasonal fee to a local farmer in return for weekly allotments of organically-grown produce. This research investigates the membership, stabilization, and success of selected CSAs in the mid- Atlantic United States. The analyses are based upon survey data from 204 members of five CSAs collected during the 2000 growing season. Interview data from each of the farmers and thirteen of the members supplement the survey data. The data are analyzed primarily with path analytic techniques in order to test hypotheses derived from a thorough search of the relevant literatures. Results show that the majority of the members of these CSAs are white, well educated, wealthy, and female. Although the respondents tend to be interested in environmental issues, alternative agriculture, and community issues, their relative level of interest does not affect their level of investment in the CSA. A higher level of member investment, however, does have a positive effect upon the organizational success of the farms in this study. Organizational success also is found to be negatively affected by the CSA's relative degree of organizational stability, a finding that contradicts some of the literature. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the methodological, theoretical, and applied implications of these findings. These implications include the finding that while electronic survey techniques have certain advantages, one disadvantage discovered is that electronic return rates are much lower than the return rates for U.S. mail surveys. Additionally, the process of social movement organization growth and change, as developed by resource mobilization theorists, is found to be applicable to the maturation levels of the CSAs in this study. Finally, strategies are suggested by the findings that can be used by CSA practitioners to render their membership more socially diverse, including the implementation of subsidized shares and payment plans. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in the Mid-Atlantic United States: A Sociological Analysis Kenneth Brandon Lang Loughridge A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy SOCIOLOGY Raleigh, NC (2002) APPROVED BY: _____________________________________________ Randall Thomson, Ph.D Chair of the Advisory Committee _____________________________________________ Richard Della Fave, Ph.D _____________________________________________ Risa Ellovich, Ph.D _____________________________________________ Robert Moxley, Ph.D Biography Kenneth Brandon Lang Loughridge was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In May, 1994, he graduated with a B.A. (Honours) in Sociology and Environmental and Resource Studies from Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. Two years later, he earned an M.A. in Social Ecology from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. In the Fall of 1996, he began his graduate studies in Sociology at North Carolina State University. Brandon’s areas of specialization are Community and Social Change. While at N.C. State, Brandon met Molly B. Monahan. They were part of the same cohort in the Sociology department. They were married on 20 May, 2000 and currently reside in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Molly is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio. Brandon is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio. ii Acknowledgements I wish to thank many people for all of their support and encouragement during my scholastic career. I am thankful for all of the long hours that my committee members, Randy, Rick, Risa and Bob, put into meeting with me, answering questions, offering helpful insights, and going over many drafts of these chapters. I particularly appreciate all of the time and energy that Randy, my chair, dedicated to me over the last two and a half years. I would also like to thank the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service (NC ARS) and the North Carolina State University department of Sociology for funding this research. I would like to thank all of the graduate students at N.C. State for their support, friendship and help along the way. I am also thankful to past students in classes that I have taught who pre-tested various drafts of the survey and humored me as I ranted and raved about the agro-industrial complex, globalization, and environmental degradation. I also appreciate all of the kindness, patience, insight and support of the farmers in this study. Thanks to Chris and Missy (Jake’s Farm), Polly and Ron (Seven Springs), Tenley and Dennis (Good Food for Good People), Rob and Carrie (From the Ground Up), and Kenneth (The Shepherd Farm) for answering all of my questions, showing me around your farms and agreeing to be involved with this study. Finally, I would like to thank my family. Mom, I truly appreciate your support, understanding, and financial assistance. Molly, I am very thankful for your kindness, thoughtfulness, cheeriness, optimism, and love. iii Table of Contents Page LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………. ix LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………x INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………..1 The Purpose of this Dissertation…………………………………………… 2 What is Globalization?……………………………………………………... 4 Factors Contributing to Globalization…………………………………...….5 Consequences of Globalization……………………………………………..7 Responses to Globalization……………………………………………….... 12 The Structure of this Dissertation………………………………………….. 14 WHAT IS COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE?…………………….. 16 Contemporary U.S. Agricultural Policy…………………………………….18 What is CSA?………………………………………………………………. 19 The Origins of CSA……………………………………………………...… 23 The Association between Rudolf Steiner and CSA………………………... 24 The Guiding Assumptions of CSA Practitioners and Members……...……. 26 The Main Goals of CSA…………………………………………………… 31 CSA as a Social Movement………………………………………………... 32 The Advantages of CSA…………………………………………………… 33 The Challenges of CSA……………………………………………………. 35 The Disadvantages of CSA………………………………………………… 35 Kragnes’ Secrets for Success………………………………………………. 36 A Profile of a CSA in Pennsylvania………………………………………...37 CSA as a Community Building and Development Tool………………….... 39 Prospects for the Future of CSA………………………………………….... 40 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..41 LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………………….………..43 Social Movement Emergence……………………………………………… 44 Two Theories of Social Movement Emergence………………………….....47 Resource Mobilization Theory……………………………………………...48 The Work of McCarthy and Zald…………………………………….…….. 49 Two Models of Resource Mobilization…………………………….……….56 The Importance of Being Organized……………………………….…….… 57 RMT and the Maturing Social Movement Organization……………........... 58 RMT as the Dominant Paradigm…………………………………...……….61 iv Table of Contents (continued) Page LITERATURE REVIEW (continued) Social Capital and Resource Mobilization…………………………………. 61 Criticisms of RMT……………………………………………….…….…... 64 RMT and Community Supported Agriculture……………………….…...... 65 Voluntary Association…………………………………………….….…..... 66 Two Theories of Voluntary Association……………………………............ 66 A Typology of Voluntary Association………………………………......…. 68 Measuring Voluntary Association……………………………….….….…...71 Why do People Join Voluntary Associations?……………………….….…. 72 Why do People Join CSAs? ………………………………………….......... 73 Membership Retention……………………………………………….…......75 Demographic Correlates of Voluntary Association Membership….…...….. 76 Socio-economic Status……………………………………………...…….... 77 Age……………………………………………………………..………....... 78 Community Integration………………………………………………......… 79 Marital Status…………………………………………………………...….. 80 Race…………………………………………………………………...…… 81 Gender…………………………………………………………………...…. 84 Other Factors that Influence CSA Membership……………………......…... 85 Trends in American Volunteerism over Time………………………........... 86 International Trends Concerning Voluntary Association…………...…...… 87 Voluntary Association and Social Capital……………………….………… 88 Voluntary Association and Life Satisfaction…………………………...….. 90 Implications of the Voluntary Association Literature………………………91 Hypotheses……………………………………………………………...….. 92 Hypothesis 1………………………………………………………………...92 Hypothesis 2…………………………………………………………….…..93 The Conceptual Model………………………………………………….….. 93 Hypothesis 3…………………………………………………………….......94 Hypothesis 4…………………………………………………………...…....95 Hypothesis 5…………………………………………………………..…….96 Hypothesis 6…………………………………………………………..…….97 Hypothesis 7…………………………………………………………..…….97 Hypothesis 8………………………………………………………...…........98 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………. 98 METHODS………………………………………………………………………… 100 Measurement……………………………………………………………….. 100 Dependent Variable.…………………………………………………...........100 v Table of Contents (continued) Page METHODS (continued) Organizational Success…………………………………………………….. 100 Intervening Variables……………………………………….……................ 101 Environmentalism………………………………………………………….. 102 Community Attachment Scale……………………………………………... 102 Alternative Agriculture Scale……………………………………………… 103 Degree of Member Investment………………………………….…………. 103 Background and