Scaling Up or Selling Out? A Critical Appraisal of Current Developments in

by

Austin Miller

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Arts

in

Political Economy

Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario

© 2011, Austin Miller Library and Archives Bibliotheque et Canada Archives Canada

Published Heritage Direction du 1+1 Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-94663-3

Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-94663-3

NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats.

The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission.

In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these.

While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. Canada Abstract

This thesis engages with material on the forefront of the social and natural sciences as it appraises the practice of vertical farming (VF). Proponents suggest VF can help ease the burden of converging food, ecological, and energy crises. The research uncovers counter-hegemonic discourses invoked by VF proponents, and analyses how actors navigate the dominant economy. Research focuses on case studies through material and discursive lenses. The results fill a niche in literature relating to alternative agriculture models, as they focus on a proposed solution to, rather than problems with agribusiness. This thesis contends with practical challenges to many normative assumptions, and exposes difficult questions which involve setting parameters, arbitrating compromise, and striking a balance between effective political action and pacification.

This research elucidates intersections of power, production and resistance as they relate to important issues of the day. As such, the conclusions are both stimulating and relevant. Acknowledgements

This thesis would simply not have been possible without the help of a number of wise and generous individuals. First, thank you to Carleton University and the Institute of

Political Economy for accepting my application and providing me with the resources to complete this research. I should extend a special thanks to Donna Coghill, for dealing so patiently with all my questions. Of course, a refined argument in a polished document is the product of numerous conversations and typed iterations between myself and my thesis committee. Thank you to my supervisor, Patricia Ballamingie,