This study investigated the local and sustainable food movements in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The aim of the research was to better understand the current condition of the phenomenon, what it means to the communities studied and the future role it will play in the state. Other research objectives that were studied included the impact of demographics on food movements, successes and barriers to success and determining the motivations of people involved. Key players in the city of Corvallis and Portland were interviewed to gather qualitative data about the movement. Interviewees were chosen based on criteria established through literature review that pointed towards groups that would be the most valuable on which to focus. The study revealed a dynamic and progressive social movement that has profound and beneficial implications on the civic wellbeing of the communities studied both currently and for their future. In addition, through this work key goals were identified that can be transferred to other communities looking to work towards a more sustainable food system in order to better facilitate their growth and prosperity. / Graduation date: 2013

Sustainable Built Environments Senior Capstone / The mesquite-harvesting project at the University of Arizona was in practice from 2011-2013. During the development of the project, students, faculty, and staff were engaged in harvesting, designing harvesting methods, milling, baking, researching, and selling mesquite flour at the campus. After discovering a common toxin in mesquite-pods, a strict harvesting method was obtained and followed throughout the seasons. However, because of the high-maintenance process of harvesting, the mesquite-harvesting project at the University of Arizona could not economically sustain on campus, and therefore, had to come to an end. This document explains the process of harvesting, the research of aflatoxin, best practices, and other events that happened during the UA mesquite-harvesting project.

This dissertation examines how concerns about food system transformations affect how middle class consumers in Islamabad, Pakistan, perceive and approach food consumption in their everyday lives. The dissertation is situated in the context of risky food environments and food fears resulting from intensified, industrialised, and increasingly lengthened global food systems. Working within food geography and food environments paradigms, this dissertation explores how the transformation of food systems is associated with increasing anxiety about food security and safety for middle class urban consumers in Islamabad. Qualitative data gathered from semi-structured interviews and participant observation is used to illustrate the effects external influences, such as energy scarcity and violent events, have on everyday food environments. The dissertation examines the ways in which conceptualisations of 'good food', and trust relationships are negotiated in these dynamic food environments. The intensely geographical nature of these food environments and food systems, and the role of place-specific contexts on perceptions and adaptations related to food anxieties are emphasised. Situated in literatures on food anxiety and food consumption emerging from geography, food studies, and anthropology, this dissertation challenges dominant discourses on alternative and ethical consumption in a globalising food system. The results of this research not only contribute to literature on South Asia, but also contribute to consumption practices of a burgeoning middle class in developing countries.

Det finns många olika anledningar till varför konsumenter köper närproducerat livsmedel. Vissa konsumenter köper närproducerat för att livsmedlet producerats i närheten där de bor medan andra köper närproducerat för att de anser att livsmedlet har producerats på ett miljö- och klimatvänligt sätt. Vissa konsumenter köper närproducerat för att det smakar bättre eller att de anser att det håller en högre kvalitet än andra livsmedel. Syftet med denna förstudie är att undersöka vilken relation och attityd gymnasieelever i Polhemsskolan i Gävle har till närproducerad mat, samt vilken attityd de har till förpackningar för närproducerad mat. Man vill även undersöka hur närproducenter i Gävleborgs län jobbar idag med marknadskommunikation och förpackningsdesign. För att genomföra denna förstudie har en kvantitativ studie använts. Den kvantitativa studien baseras på två stycken enkätundersökningar som gymnasieelever i Polhemsskolan i Gävle och närproducenter i Gävleborgs län fått ta del av. Enkäterna behandlade samtliga teoriområden. Teorikapitlet inleds med en bakgrundsbeskrivning om MatVärden som är en förening som arbetar för att Gävleborgs invånare men även besökare ska kunna ta del av den mat och dryck som produceras i Gävleborg. Därefter beskrivs Livsmedelsstrategin 2017, om närproducerat livsmedel, konsumenternas efterfrågan, förpackningsdesign och marknadskommunikation. Varje del har en koppling till studiens syfte som ska ligga till grund för slutsatsen. I empirin presenteras det material som samlats in i samband med den kvantitativa enkätundersökningen. Man har sett att det finns en kunskapsbrist bland gymnasieelever om närproducerat livsmedel. Det framkommer också i resultatet att de anser att en färgad och mer rolig förpackning attraherar mer än en vanlig och enkelfärgad. Närproducenter har idag svårt att ta sig ända ut till butik eftersom att det brister i både kunskap och kommunikation. De har begränsade förutsättningar att jobba i enlighet med de traditionella modeller som finns och har påvisat ett intresse för att öka sin försäljning och nå ända ut till butik. / There are many different reasons why consumers buy locally produced foods. Some consumers buy locally produced food nearby, while others buy after-production because they consider that the food has been produced in an environmentally and climate-friendly way. Some consumers buy after-production because it tastes better or that they consider it to be of a higher quality than other foods. The purpose of this pilot study is to investigate the relationship and attitude to food that is produced locally, and the attitude they attach to packaging for local food of high school students in Polhem school in Gävle. Also, investigate how local manufacturers in Gävleborg County work today with market communication and packaging design. To carry out this study, a quantitative study has been used. The quantitative study is based on two surveys conducted by high school students at the Polhem School in Gävle and local producers in Gävleborg County. The questionnaires cover all the theory areas. The theory chapter begins with a background description about MatVärden, an association that works for Gävleborg residents, but also visitors to be able to share the food and drink produced in Gävleborg. Next, the Foodstuffs Strategy 2017 describes food production, consumer demand, packaging design and marketing communications. Each part has a connection with the purpose of the study that will be the basis for the conclusion. The empirical material presents the material collected about the quantitative questionnaire survey. It has been observed that there is a lack of knowledge among high school students about food produced locally. It also appears in the result that they consider that a colored and more fun packaging attracts more than one ordinary and single-colored. Local producers have a hard time reaching out to the stores today because they lack knowledge and communication. They have limited opportunities to work per the traditional models that exist and have shown an interest in increasing their sales and reaching out to the stores.

No description available.

No description available.

<p>This dissertation is a policy driven ethnography of smallholder and alternative farmers in Indiana that centers food justice and utilizes interdisciplinary frameworks to analyze the adaptive strategies that farmers use to address the specific challenges they face. Through the implementation of adaptive strategies such as regenerative growing practices, the cultivation of community, stewardship of the land, and an emphasis on transparency, the smallholders I worked with over the course of this study negotiate complex agricultural spaces and build the resilience of their farmsteads and the communities they serve. Smallholder and alternative farmers in Indiana are reimagining the agricultural spaces they occupy and driving transformational change of dominant narratives and local food systems. Critiques of conventional agriculture and commodity production are not intended to reify binary perceptions of the agricultural paradigm, but rather to demonstrate that the critical role of smallholder and alternatives farmers should be valued as well. </p> <p> </p> <p>This research draws on four years of ethnographic research, archival sources, and close readings of policy measures and media reports to illuminate the historical context that has positioned smallholders in juxtaposition to large-scale conventional agriculture, and the critical role of smallholder farmers in driving food systems change while centering food justice and community resiliency. The driving research questions for the following essays follow: Why have small scale and alternative farmers chosen to farm (and farm differently)? What specific challenges do they face and how might these challenges be better addressed by existing support systems and new legislation? What can be learned from the alternative narratives and reimagined spaces smallholder farmers engage with? This work joins the growing body of research that challenges agricultural meta-narratives by presenting a counter-narrative of smallholder resilience and the <i>a priori</i> notion that posits agricultural technology as a panacea for everything from world hunger to economics to environmental concerns. </p>

This mixed-methods study addresses the relationship between the availability of food and realized food access by studying the retail food landscape of Holyoke, Massachusetts – a small, socio-economically diverse city. While a large body of empirical research finds that low-income communities and communities of color are especially likely to lack adequate access to healthy foods and experience increased vulnerability to food insecurity, few studies explore urban food environments through a mixed-methods case study approach. Through the use of food store mapping, store audits, and resident interviews, this research is a nascent attempt to articulate how the unique development histories and cultural politics of urban neighborhoods affect food access. The analysis finds that local food environments in Holyoke vary by social and spatial context. The study further considers how health and stability of a community is affected by the distribution and variety of food retail stores. In particular the study articulates the constructs of race and class in the food environment via the spatial mismatch of preferred food stores, mobility challenges, and the role of small urban food stores in the context of Holyoke’s foodscape. Implications for local food security policy are discussed.

The present empirical study examined factors that affect the acceptance and use of social media platforms by farmers and vendors in farmers’ communities in North Mississippi for marketing their small farm businesses. Based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), structural equations modeling was used to examine several relationships: (1) the influence of performance expectancy (PE) on behavioral intention (BI) to use social media; (2) the influence of effort expectancy (EE) on BI; (3) the influence of social influence (SI) on BI; (4) the influence of facilitating conditions (FC) on actual use (USE) of social media; (5) the moderating influence of gender on the PE–BI, EE–BI, and SI-BI relationships; (6) the moderating influence of age on the PE–BI, EE–BI, SI-BI, and FC–USE relationships; and (7) the moderating influence of experience using social media on the EE–BI, SI-BI, and FC–USE relationships. Results from 169 respondents who completed questionnaires indicated that PE, EE, SI, and FC (key constructs) did predict farmers and vendors’ BI to use social media and actual USE of social media for marketing their small farm businesses and agriproducts. Respondents’ characteristics (e.g., age, gender, social media experience) did moderate some of these relationships in different ways. Thus, the present study provided additional empirical support for UTAUT. Additionally, responses to questions that assessed constructs in UTAUT suggest that respondents are open to social media as a marketing tool for their small farm businesses. Other results indicated that farmers and vendors prefer to market their products through farmers markets and community supported agriculture groups as compared to retail outlets and noted barriers present in retail marketing channels. This study provides information that will be beneficial for the development of educational programs and contributes to the literature on the factors affecting farmers’ intention to use social media to promote agriproducts to connect new markets.

Tourism is one of the largest sectors in the world, contributing to one in ten jobs globally and 10% of the global GDP. However, the climate is facing many challenges and the tourism sector must become more sustainable. Food and drink consumption is playing a more important role in tourism, and particularly food is recognised as one of the biggest polluters due to the way it is produced, the miles it is transported and the waste it generates. Consumers are therefore increasingly requesting food and drink produced locally and in season. For the same reason, restaurants are serving locally produced food, beverages are produced around the corner and destinations are using local food and drink in their marketing as part of their offers. Everybody must eat during their holiday and research shows that tourists are increasingly interested in culinary experiences and prepared to pay more for local food. Through eight qualitative interviews with respondents from five tourist destinations in the UK, with specific food and/or drink offerings, as well as research done on their specific websites, an understanding of what role local food plays in the marketing of tourist destinations in the UK was obtained. The case studies were conducted across the following UK destinations: Bristol, Cornwall, Cumbria, Kent, and Scotland. The present research suggests that local food and drink is an important part of the overall package offer as well as a crucial element in the collaboration between different stakeholders. However, there is no official definition of what local food and drink is, and the reputation of British food is still challenging, and although one could argue it is no longer deserved, it is proving an issue when promoting the UK as a food destination. Though not explicitly stated, storytelling appears to be an important factor for all respondents in marketing their tourism offers.