IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/agrhuv/v31y2014i2p307-322.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Civic agriculture and community engagement

Author

Listed:
  • Brian Obach
  • Kathleen Tobin

Abstract

Several scholars have claimed that small-scale agriculture in which farmers sell goods to the local market has the potential to strengthen social ties and a sense of community, a phenomenon referred to as “civic agriculture.” Proponents see promise in the increase in the number of community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, farmers markets, and other locally orientated distribution systems as well as the growing interest among consumers for buying locally produced goods. Yet others have suggested that these novel or reborn distribution mechanisms are still primarily means of instrumental economic exchange and that optimistic characterizations of a renewed sense of community emerging from these practices are unfounded. This study provides an empirical assessment of the extent to which these community-based agriculture markets are associated with connection to community, volunteerism, and civic and political activities. In order to assess the relationship between civic agriculture and community engagement, we surveyed over 1,300 people in the Mid-Hudson region of New York State. The study design includes “civic agriculture participants” as the unit of analysis, defined as CSA farm members, shoppers at independent health food stores, and farmers market patrons. For comparison, a telephone survey of randomly selected residents of the region’s general population was also conducted. Unlike studies that focus solely on the perceptions of certain civic agriculture participants (e.g., CSA members), by comparing the perceptions and behaviors of those engaged in a range of civic agriculture practices, we are able to identify the effects of different forms of participation. The results demonstrate higher levels of voluntarism and engagement in local politics among civic agriculture participants relative to the general population. In addition, we found variation among those engaged in different forms of civic agriculture, with those immersed in more socially embedded forms of exchange demonstrating greater community and political involvement. These findings lend empirical support to the civic agriculture thesis. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Brian Obach & Kathleen Tobin, 2014. "Civic agriculture and community engagement," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 31(2), pages 307-322, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:31:y:2014:i:2:p:307-322
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-013-9477-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10460-013-9477-z
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10460-013-9477-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ganz, Marshall Louis & Skocpol, Theda & Munson, Ziad, 2000. "A Nation of Organizers: The Institutional Origins of Civic Voluntarism in the United States," Scholarly Articles 12641806, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    2. Robert Feagan & Amanda Henderson, 2009. "Devon Acres CSA: local struggles in a global food system," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 26(3), pages 203-217, September.
    3. Martinez, Stephen W., 2007. "The U.S. Food Marketing System: Recent Developments, 1997-2006," Economic Research Report 55962, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    4. Antoinette Pole & Margaret Gray, 2013. "Farming alone? What’s up with the “C” in community supported agriculture," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(1), pages 85-100, March.
    5. Brady, Henry E. & Verba, Sidney & Schlozman, Kay Lehman, 1995. "Beyond SES: A Resource Model of Political Participation," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 89(2), pages 271-294, June.
    6. Laura DeLind, 2011. "Are local food and the local food movement taking us where we want to go? Or are we hitching our wagons to the wrong stars?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 28(2), pages 273-283, June.
    7. Jonathan Murdoch & Terry Marsden & Jo Banks, 2000. "Quality, Nature, and Embeddedness: Some Theoretical Considerations in the Context of the Food Sector," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 76(2), pages 107-125, April.
    8. Skocpol, Theda & Ganz, Marshall & Munson, Ziad, 2000. "A Nation of Organizers: The Institutional Origins of Civic Voluntarism in the United States," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 94(3), pages 527-546, September.
    9. Joshua Cohen & Joel Rogers, 1992. "Secondary Associations and Democratic Governance," Politics & Society, , vol. 20(4), pages 393-472, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Catherine Brinkley & Gwyneth M. Manser & Sasha Pesci, 2021. "Growing pains in local food systems: a longitudinal social network analysis on local food marketing in Baltimore County, Maryland and Chester County, Pennsylvania," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(4), pages 911-927, December.
    2. Krauss, Steven Eric & Zeldin, Shepherd & Abdullah, Haslinda & Ortega, Adriana & Ali, Zuraidah & Ismail, Ismi Arif & Ariffin, Zaifu, 2020. "Malaysian youth associations as places for empowerment and engagement," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    3. Carson Young, 2022. "Should You Buy Local?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(2), pages 265-281, March.
    4. Wellbrock Wanja & Daniela Ludin & Ludwig Lisa N & Muhlfeld & Kristina, 2020. "Sustainable agriculture trough regional solidary in global markets," Journal of Applied and Physical Sciences, Prof. Vakhrushev Alexander, vol. 6(1), pages 01-10.
    5. William Lacy, 2023. "Local food systems, citizen and public science, empowered communities, and democracy: hopes deserving to live," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(1), pages 1-17, March.
    6. Ayambire, Raphael Anammasiya & Amponsah, Owusu & Peprah, Charles & Takyi, Stephen Appiah, 2019. "A review of practices for sustaining urban and peri-urban agriculture: Implications for land use planning in rapidly urbanising Ghanaian cities," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 260-277.
    7. Sarvenaz Pakravan & Shahin Keynoush & Ehsan Daneshyar, 2022. "Proposing a Pedagogical Framework for Integrating Urban Agriculture as a Tool to Achieve Social Sustainability within the Interior Design Studio," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-32, June.
    8. Pingyang Liu & Paul Gilchrist & Becky Taylor & Neil Ravenscroft, 2017. "The spaces and times of community farming," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(2), pages 363-375, June.
    9. Giovanna Sacchi & Leonardo Cei & Gianluca Stefani & Ginevra Virginia Lombardi & Benedetto Rocchi & Giovanni Belletti & Susanne Padel & Anna Sellars & Edneia Gagliardi & Giuseppe Nocella & Sarah Cardey, 2018. "A Multi-Actor Literature Review on Alternative and Sustainable Food Systems for the Promotion of Cereal Biodiversity," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-29, November.
    10. María Victoria Marinelli & Evangelina Beatriz Argüello Caro & Irene Petrosillo & Franca Giannini Kurina & Beatriz Liliana Giobellina & Carlos Marcelo Scavuzzo & Donatella Valente, 2022. "Sustainable Food Supply by Peri-Urban Diversified Farms of the Agri-Food Region of Central Córdoba, Argentina," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, December.
    11. Ramona Bunkus & Ilkhom Soliev & Insa Theesfeld, 2020. "Density of resident farmers and rural inhabitants’ relationship to agriculture: operationalizing complex social interactions with a structural equation model," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(1), pages 47-63, March.
    12. Jenő Zsolt Farkas & Irén Rita Kőszegi & Edit Hoyk & Ádám Szalai, 2023. "Challenges and Future Visions of the Hungarian Livestock Sector from a Rural Development Viewpoint," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-20, June.
    13. Michael A. Long & Lara Gonçalves & Paul B. Stretesky & Margaret Anne Defeyter, 2020. "Food Insecurity in Advanced Capitalist Nations: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-19, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sarah Bowen & Tad Mutersbaugh, 2014. "Local or localized? Exploring the contributions of Franco-Mediterranean agrifood theory to alternative food research," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 31(2), pages 201-213, June.
    2. Zhenzhong Si & Theresa Schumilas & Steffanie Scott, 2015. "Characterizing alternative food networks in China," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(2), pages 299-313, June.
    3. Sean Lauer & Miu Chung Yan, 2022. "Social Infrastructure and Social Capacity Development Among Newcomers to Canada: the Role of Neighborhood Houses in Vancouver," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 911-929, June.
    4. Sini Forssell & Leena Lankoski, 2015. "The sustainability promise of alternative food networks: an examination through “alternative” characteristics," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(1), pages 63-75, March.
    5. Alberto Alesina & Edward Glaeser & Bruce Sacerdote, 2001. "Why Doesn't The US Have a European-Style Welfare State?," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1933, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    6. Pingyang Liu & Paul Gilchrist & Becky Taylor & Neil Ravenscroft, 2017. "The spaces and times of community farming," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(2), pages 363-375, June.
    7. Christopher McGrory Klyza & Andrew Savage & Jonathan Isham, 2004. "Local Environmental Groups, the Creation of Social Capital, and Environmental Policy: Evidence from Vermont," Middlebury College Working Paper Series 0407, Middlebury College, Department of Economics.
    8. Miguel, Edward A. & Gertler, Paul & Levine, David I., 2003. "Did Industrialization Destroy Social Capital in Indonesia?," Center for International and Development Economics Research, Working Paper Series qt9kt2m860, Center for International and Development Economics Research, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    9. Andrew Savage & Jonathan Isham & Christopher McGrory Klyza, 2003. "The Changing Composition and Influence of Land-Based Groups: Evidence from Two Counties in Vermont," Middlebury College Working Paper Series 0306, Middlebury College, Department of Economics.
    10. Jacob M. Grumbach & Jamila Michener, 2022. "American Federalism, Political Inequality, and Democratic Erosion," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 699(1), pages 143-155, January.
    11. Andrew Savage & Christopher McGrory Klyza & Jonathan Isham, 2004. "The Greening of Social Capital: An Examination of Land-Based Groups in Two Vermont Counties," Middlebury College Working Paper Series 0306r, Middlebury College, Department of Economics.
    12. Edward Walker, 2005. "The Influence of Organizational Structure, Membership Composition and Resources on the survival of Poor People’s Social Movement Organizations," Working Papers id:23, eSocialSciences.
    13. Eleni Papaoikonomou & Matías Ginieis, 2017. "Putting the farmer’s face on food: governance and the producer–consumer relationship in local food systems," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(1), pages 53-67, March.
    14. Steven Schnell, 2013. "Food miles, local eating, and community supported agriculture: putting local food in its place," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(4), pages 615-628, December.
    15. Claudio Vitari & Erin Whittingham, 2018. "Tackling Conventional Agriculture: The Institutionalization of Community Supported Agriculture's (CSA) Principles," Post-Print halshs-01923789, HAL.
    16. Lydia Zepeda & Anna Reznickova, 2017. "Innovative millennial snails: the story of Slow Food University of Wisconsin," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(1), pages 167-178, March.
    17. Sini Forssell & Leena Lankoski, 2017. "Navigating the tensions and agreements in alternative food and sustainability: a convention theoretical perspective on alternative food retail," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(3), pages 513-527, September.
    18. Olivia Patterson & Frederick Weil & Kavita Patel, 2010. "The Role of Community in Disaster Response: Conceptual Models," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 29(2), pages 127-141, April.
    19. Pierre Garaudel, 2020. "Exploring meta-organizations’ diversity and agency: A meta-organizational perspective on global union federations," Post-Print halshs-02474817, HAL.
    20. Alberto Alesina & Edward Glaeser & Bruce Sacerdote, 2001. "Why Doesn't the US Have a European-Style Welfare System?," NBER Working Papers 8524, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:31:y:2014:i:2:p:307-322. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.