This research explores the dependencies between community food security and local food movements. We use a mixed methods approach that includes: analysis of 2.97 million pounds of food bank donations from 296 organizations, network analysis of the local food system with 77 farms and 439 market connections, and 24 interviews with food bank donors and staff. We find strong ties between the food bank and local food producers, particularly producers that are organic and sell directly to the public. Nearly half the donating farms also sold to local markets; and together supplied the majority of locally produced food (296,090 pounds) distributed by the food bank. Yet, both movements operate within capitalist systems, even when the food is decommodified. Producer motivations for donating are not purely based on social responsibility to feed the hungry but also acknowledge the financial and marketing benefits of donating in terms of receiving tax credits, participating in procurement programs, and improving public relations. Our findings suggest that research and policy focused on local food systems or food security should consider such ties and their implications for growing or maintaining resulting practices.
- Award ID(s):
- 1832230
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10292548
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Production and Operations Management
- ISSN:
- 1059-1478
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
more » « less
Abstract -
more » « less
Abstract The rapid depletion of US groundwater resources and rising number of dying wells in the Western US brings attention to the significance of groundwater governance and sustainability restrictions. However, such restrictions on groundwater withdrawals are likely to generate spillover effects causing further environmental stresses in other locations and adding to the complexity of sustainability challenges. The goal of this paper is to improve our understanding of the implications of growing global food demand for local sustainability stresses and the implications of local sustainability policies for local, regional, and global food production, land use, and prices. We employ SIMPLE-G-US (Simplified International Model of agricultural Prices, Land use, and the Environment—Gridded version for the United States) to distangle the significance or remote changes in population and income for irrigation and water resources in the US. Then we examine the local-to-global impacts of potential US groundwater sustainability policies. We find that developments in international markets are significant, as more than half of US sustainability stresses by 2050 are caused by increased commodity demand from abroad. Furthermore, a US sustainable groundwater policy can cause overseas spillovers of US production, thereby potentially contributing to environmental stresses elsewhere, even as groundwater stress in the US is alleviated. These unintended consequences could include deforestation due to cropland expansion, as well as degradation in water quality due to intensification of production in non-targeted areas.
-
more » « less
This article analyzes the strategic potential and empirical challenges of private governance in promoting decent work in global agriculture by curtailing buyer power and fostering labor agency, drawing lessons from Fairtrade International-certified flower plantations in Ecuador. The study explains (1) Fairtrade’s logic in promoting ‘trade fairness’ and ‘worker empowerment’ and operationalization of these values via its certification standards, (2) the power relations shaping certification practices in global flower markets and Ecuadorian plantations, and (3) the grounded implications of participation for firms and workers. Important lessons emerge. First, while Fairtrade pursues a promising avenue for challenging the buyer control that erodes supplier and worker power, it has only marginally reduced floral buyer power due to retailer resistance, low-bar certification competition, and programmatic regulatory gaps. Second, although Fairtrade’s empowerment approach has strengthened labor agency within and beyond the workplace, bolstering individual empowerment has proved easier than fostering associational power. As I show, certification practices and outcomes are mediated by commodity-specific global market politics and localized enterprise, labor force, and legal contestations which explain why program aspirations are often not realized. Standard systems can reshape internal trade relations and organizations but cannot alone ensure global trade equity or robust labor representation.
-
more » « less
Abstract This article analyzes the hidden developmental state (HDS) from a cultural perspective, exploring the values and vocabularies of motive among technology experts, managers and government officials involved in state-led innovation. We consider the rollout of smart meters in Washington State, an endeavor primarily funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Mobilizing evidence from 70 key informant interviews, we develop two related arguments. First, despite its ‘hiddenness’, the ARRA provided cash injections that shifted utility business models and electricity markets from fossil fuels infrastructure and toward renewable technologies by funding projects rather than organizations. The funding structure enabled engineers and managers to bypass conventional industry gatekeepers. Second, this shift was conditioned by a traditional ‘business case’ discourse, which functioned as a rhetorical lubricant, legitimating risky innovation and disguising individual and organizational values that run against established norms. A concluding discussion highlights the implications for future research.
-
more » « less
Abstract Over the last few years, understanding of the effects of increasingly interconnected global flows of agricultural commodities on coupled human and natural systems has significantly improved. However, many important factors in environmental change that are influenced by these commodity flows are still not well understood. Here, we present an empirical spatial modelling approach to assess how changes in forest cover are influenced by trade destination. Using data for soybean-producing municipalities in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, between 2004 and 2017, we evaluated the relationships between forest cover change and the annual soybean trade destination. Results show that although most of the soybean produced in Mato Grosso during the study period (60%) was destined for international markets, municipalities with greater and more consistent soybean production not destined for international markets during the study period were more strongly associated with deforestation. In these municipalities, soybean production was also significantly correlated with cattle and pasture expansion. These results have important implications for the sustainable management of natural resources in the face of an increasingly interconnected world, while also helping to identify the most suitable locations for implementing policies to reduce deforestation risks.
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1111/poms.13513
