Local Food and Civic Engagement: Do Farmers Who Market Local Food Feel More Responsible for Their Communities?

Abstract

Do farmers who participate in local food systems attach greater importance to civic engagement than farmers whose livelihood is not tied to the vitality of local markets? The literature on local food as a social movement continues to paint a picture of local food systems as contributing to, and benefiting from, rich networks of civil society groups. Yet to date, few studies have directly addressed the question of whether marketing local food is actually associated with higher levels of civic engagement among farmers. In this paper, I draw on local capitalism theory to identify two different mechanisms—depth of economic reliance on local markets, and breadth of social networks related to local food sales—that might spur farmers who market local food to feel more responsible for their communities. Then, using data from a large‐scale survey of specialty crop growers, I explore whether a relationship exists between farmer involvement with local food markets and attitudes toward civic engagement. Results suggest that while farmers strongly committed to local food markets attach greater importance to civic engagement, participation in multiple categories or kinds of local food supply chains is not necessarily associated with stronger civic values.

Recommendations for Integrating Evidence-Based, Sustainable Diet Information into Nutrition Education

“…Also, when locally-produced foods were ranked against more global foods of the same type (e.g., a local, regional French wine versus a similar French generic table wine produced for export) on a multitude of sustainability attributes, the local foods consistently outranked their global counterparts [128]. Local food systems have also been shown to stimulate local economies by providing employment and generating profit [136][137][138][139]; provide growers with a heightened sense of civic engagement towards their communities [140]; improve access to fruits and vegetables, especially in low-income areas where access may be otherwise scarce [141][142][143][144][145]; and improve health outcomes for the community, including reduced body mass index, better eating behaviors, and greater reported overall health [146][147][148][149].…”

Weather, Values, Capacity and Concern: Toward a Social-Cognitive Model of Specialty Crop Farmers’ Perceptions of Climate Change Risk

“…In several studies looking at farmers’ value systems, three roughly analogous dimensions can be discerned: productivism; environmentalism; and civic-mindedness (Brodt et al, 2006; McGuire et al, 2013; Schoolman et al, 2021). Productivist values lead farmers to prioritize yield, efficiency and profitability through the use of modern equipment and agricultural technologies; environmentalist values lead farmers to prioritize natural ecological systems and minimal disturbance to these systems in farm operations; and civic-mindedness values lead farmers to prioritize community leadership and civic engagement (McGuire et al, 2013, 2015; Schoolman, 2020). These three value systems are distinct but not mutually exclusive; individuals can subscribe to more than one but prioritize which dominates in the context of specific situations (McGuire et al, 2015).…”

Alternative Food Networks: Perceptions in Short Food Supply Chains in Spain

“…To this respect, other work mentioned that farmers with a strong commitment to local food markets gave more importance to the civic commitment. The same does not apply for those that participate in multiple types of food supply chains [86].…”