The phenomenon of organic agriculture in the Mid North of South Australia is explored in seven case studies of local organic producers. The research issue asks how these organic producers organise to survive in a marketplace where they remain marginal players. The research is framed around Sonnino and Marsden's (2006) two-dimensional model of alternative agriculture, which structures the case study analysis at two levels: a horizontal dimension concerning farmer agency and grassroots innovations, and a vertical dimension focusing on farmer interaction with regulatory and governance frameworks in organic agriculture. To enrich understanding of farmer practices at the grassroots level, two additions are made to the horizontal dimension: the role that beliefs play in determining agency and innovation in motivating farmers to 'go organic' and 'stay organic' and how alternative beliefs, particularly about nature and localism, influence the construction by organic farmers of 'new platforms of action' (Sonnino and Marsden 2006), essential for survival in the marketplace. / PhD Doctorate

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 209-227).

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 155-159).

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 144-148). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Communication, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 48-51).

Thesis PlanA (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

M.A. (Anthropology) / The global organic food industry has experienced incredibly high growth rates over the past twenty years. In many parts of the world the formal retail of organic food sourced consumers from an already established informal trade. The formalisation of organic food thus necessitated engagement with and monetisation of the ‘organic ethos’ inherent in the informal trade, and played an important part in the popularisation of ethical consumption. This has stimulated many larger discussions about the relationship of humankind, and industry, with the natural world, and has contributed to debates surrounding how to study the forces directing the evolution of agro-food economies. This study contributes to these debates by framing them within the South African context. Through a twenty three month mixed methods study rooted in participant observation and guided by the tenets of constructivist grounded theory, this investigation of the formal organic food industry aims to achieve both theoretical and practical goals. On a practical level, it suggests reasons for the unique growth and composition of the industry witnessed in South Africa, while contributing to global debates surrounding the meaning of organic. On a theoretical level, it suggests that Dixon’s conception of the Cultural Economic Model may overcome some of the analytical divides witnessed in agro-food theory, ultimately contributing to a more balanced, humanised account of the forces directing the shape and shift of food economies.

The dissertation consists of a critical preface and excerpts from the novel Patrol. The preface explores how the novel Patrol utilizes characters that engage with tropes of the Romantic Genius in order to establish their subjectivity while navigating the standardizing mechanisms of twenty-first century information technologies. The preface analyzes how the rise of the organic food movement, the usage of biotech genetic engineering, and the tactics of Big Data-era marketing all inform the critical underpinnings of Patrol, situating the novel in conversation with works of fiction and nonfiction that also explore the interplay of these topics with contemporary American culture. Set primarily in Cincinnati, Ohio, the bifurcated narrative of the novel Patrol enlists the perspectives of both a science-tech father from the Boomer generation, Tim Smith, and his millennial public relations-major daughter, Sarah Smith. Both work in industries that seek to utilize the concept of the individual genius in service of quantification. Tim and Sarah’s interactions with Alexandra Smith, a family member who transitions from female to male over the course of the novel, cause both protagonists to recognize that their own identities are malleable, and this discovery goads each into reexamining their career choices and personal relationships. The plot depicts the outcome of these explorations, culminating in a series of choices for Tim and Sarah that showcase the fundamental change in each character. Unable to simply quantify themselves and those around them, Tim and Sarah instead adopt a more nuanced view of the world that seeks to find a balance between the individualistic conceit of the Romantic genius and the quantifying mandates of technology.

In this thesis, the optimal location for a large format, organic food retail store is determined using the Huff Model in Montreal, Canada. The Huff Model has been widely used in marketing analysis to determine the optimal location in a variety of contexts. First, the study used Statistics Canada 2001 food expenditure data for Montreal to generate a double log linear food expenditure model for Montreal consumers. Variance Inflation Factors were calculated to test if there were multicollinearity problems, and a Breusch-Pagen test was done to test for heteroskedasticity. Neither of the results showed any statistical problems. Second, AC Nielson survey results were used to facilitate the organic food expenditure calculation process. Third, the travel distance from all census tracts in Montreal to the candidate store locations were calculated using the Manhattan distance calculator (McLafferty and Grady, 2005). Finally, the Huff Model was used to calculate an attractiveness index for each candidate location. The conclusion from the results of the empirical analysis was that, among the 45 candidate locations, which are scattered all across Montreal, 5445 de Gaspe gained the highest attractiveness index. This location is situated close to relatively affluent and highly populated areas of the city, and is also very accessible. Not only is this just a few blocks from two metro stations, and close to city bus routes, it is also adjacent to several major streets such as Saint-Laurent to the west, Saint-Denis to the east, Rosemont to the north and Saint-Joseph to the south. This thesis has provided a new application of the Huff model, which could be used in various markets, and has provided an interesting combination of models from the field of Economic Geography, and Agricultural Economics.

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 176-181). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.