We ask to what degree consumers who act out movement practices (eg local food consumption) may do so without regard for larger environmental and social justice implications, and how focus on individual concerns reflects the partial (but increasing) neoliberalization and depoliticization of the alternative food movement. Coupling narratives from five citizen-consumers with analysis of organizational discourse from a major food movement organization in Massachusetts' Pioneer Valley, we examine the interplay of individual and collective identity to point to places where modified discourse and movement tactics may produce more fruitful outcomes (eg greater community food security). Ultimately, we argue that individualistic interpretations of alternative food are reinforced by organizational campaigns that shape collective identity, casting "buying local" as a heroic act, thereby re-casting others as anti-heroes. Counteracting individualization with a new politics of possibility should be prioritized, as citizen-consumers will inevitably determine future landscapes of food, environmental sustainability and social justice.

No abstract

Analysis of production and trade data from 176 countries reveals that patterns of wood product consumption and harvest differ significantly across income groups. Poorer countries' consumption consists primarily of domestic fuelwood, yet between 1972 and 2009, low-income countries harvested >171 million hectares of forest products for export. High-income countries were the only group to act as net importers, suggesting that rich countries practice preservation within borders but appropriate resources from poorer countries to sustain consumption. Harvests in poorer countries do occur at relatively low harvest efficiencies, implying that losses may be attenuated via technological improvement. However, efficiency does not mitigate the effects of high consumption. Despite exceptionally high efficiencies, high-income countries are still responsible for just as much (or more) consumption-driven forest loss as any other group. These findings highlight the importance of reducing consumption and suggest that neither technocentric solutions nor national-level conservation policies are sufficient means to preserve global forests.

For many citizens and policymakers, the empirical relationship between economic growth and biodiversity conservation has not been sufficiently established for purposes of identifying the types of economic policies amenable to biodiversity conservation. Some think economic growth conflicts with biodiversity conservation; others think economic growth conduces biodiversity conservation. With panel data from 1997-2011, encompassing US continental states, we developed a series of statistical models to investigate the relationships among species endangerment, human population, and economic growth as indicated by GDP and per capita GDP. Species endangerment is highly correlated with population and GDP, and per capita GDP is a significant regressor of species endangerment. Across US continental states, competitive exclusion of non-human species occurs via human economic growth and population growth.