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Farmers have traditionally depended on their families or paid employees to cover their extensive labor needs. Today, non-waged labor models are gaining popularity, especially among small, ecologically-oriented farms. Apprenticeships and internships can be a primary form of training for a population of new and beginning farmers, many of whom are entering the field without farming backgrounds. However, many question the sustainability and justness of these arrangements. As a new phenomenon, very little research examines the relationship between non-waged labor models like agricultural apprenticeships and alternative food movements. In this exploratory study, the author surveyed nearly 250 farmers growing for local markets in the Southern Appalachians to better understand their rationales for using waged or non-waged labor, and to explore how those decisions impact the local food movement developing within the region. The author finds that farmers using non-waged labor are smaller, less profitable, and more likely to be new to farming than their wage-paying counterparts, and that they choose to host non-waged laborers for both economic and noneconomic reasons. Ultimately, non-waged labor models create incremental steps towards changing the food system by educating new farmers and food systems advocates, increasing the transparency of agricultural labor practices, and giving small-scale farmers a chance to grow their business and get more products into the local economy. However, the non-wage labor model may not be sustainable in the long run, and it perpetuates injustices, such as the exclusion of those who can't afford to train without pay, and it should evolve as the food system evolves.

Pomona College is an institution deeply committed to sustainability and student well being; however these commitments are not reflected in the College’s food purchases. Before this study, an assessment of purchasing had not been conducted at Pomona College. Using the Real Food Calculator – a metric designed to evaluate food purchasing at academic institutions – I tracked all food purchased by one of the College’s dining halls over the course of one month. Each food item was assessed based on the potential health concerns of its ingredients and whether the item was locally produced, ecologically sound and/or humane to determine whether it should be considered Real. The assessment metric also lists ingredients with potential health concerns (including trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, MSG, and others), which if present in the food item mean it cannot be considered Real. Of the over $150,000 worth of food purchases made during the study, 8.9% qualified as Real Food. Each food that qualified as Real Food met the standards for at least one of the attributes (local, ecologically sound, or humane). A total of 2.1% of all food purchases qualified for two attributes. Of the foods assessed, over one third contained ingredients considered harmful to human health. If Pomona is serious about its commitments to sustainability and student well being, it is time to include food purchasing in these discussions. The study concludes with a series of recommendations to improve food purchasing at Pomona College.

While farmers’ market vendors rely on loyal and frequent patrons to purchase their products, it is unclear how the intrinsic differences among farmers’ market shoppers serve as indicators of potential shopping frequency at farmers’ markets. The objectives of this thesis are to identify consumers’ intrinsic values associated with characteristics of local foods, examine how these values are reflected in consumption behaviors among farmers' market shoppers, and explore the relationship between consumption activities and shopping frequency at farmers' markets. Results suggest that the differences between frequent and infrequent farmers’ market shoppers could be explained by the individual’s levels of high and low involvement in consumption activities that reflect intrinsic values associated with benefits of locally produced foods. Market patrons who generally exhibit higher levels of involvement in these activities are more likely to be frequent farmers’ market shoppers; this is particularly true for those who are drawn to activities associated with public life or group settings. This information can be used by farmers’ market managers and vendors to develop targeted marketing strategies for retention of frequent market shoppers and also for increasing market patronage for less frequent market shoppers.

Alternative agriculture and counter-cuisine movements have grown to a strong cultural current in Western European and North American societies. In recent years,these movements have begun to converge and coalesce around the concept of localizing agri-food relations and commodity chains as a way of redressing the deleterious environmental, social, and economic consequences of what are seen as dominant globalized food relations. This dissertation reports on a regional study in Eastern Kansas of the political economy of local food relations that has arisen through this producer and consumer response. It is an effort to recognize the regional interplay of disparate forces in constructing local food systems in the interest of framing more contextualized and nuanced questions about the environmental, social, and economic outcomes of alternative agri-food development. Network, conventions, and spatial analysis theories and methods were customized and put into practice in the service of these aims, using triangulation among them to mitigate each of their individual weaknesses in representing the variable embeddedness, politics, and spaces of local food in Eastern Kansas. It was found that local food generally represents a marketing niche in urban consumerism that is served primarily by regional rural producers. The distances, agricultural and food ecologies, forms of organization, and values underpinning local food linkages were all found to vary quite considerably throughout the region, creating a diverse combination of development agendas and impacts from local food networks and making food localization a highly contested concept. Local food development in its current form is thus highly dependent on urban/rural dialectics and projects of urbanization that lack open, transparent, and reflexive governance. Critical acknowledgement of these development interdependencies is important as a step toward encouraging social, economic, and environmental justice through local food development.

Thesis ((MPhil (Sustainable Development Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The main aims of this thesis were to investigate the benefits and limitations of local food economies in promoting sustainability through a review of the literature and an assessment of the current status of the food production, distribution and consumption in Stellenbosch in order to make recommendations for promoting greater sustainability through Stellenbosch‟s food system. A review of the literature found that the modern food system has promoted the externalisation of social and environmental costs to the detriment of food, livelihood and environmental security for communities across the world. Whilst localisation of the food system does not conclusively result in reduced contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, it tends to promote greater sustainability through the building of community networks and embeddedness that increase the potential for strengthening community resilience, accountability and the internalisation of social and environmental costs. Challenges in the near future of population growth, urbanisation, climate change, intensifying environmental degradation and peak oil are expected to drastically alter the ways in which we are able to produce and distribute food. Local food economies are presented as an alternative food system that builds social, economic and environmental capital at a community level whilst increasing community resilience to future shocks and threats. Research into the current status of production, distribution and consumption for Stellenbosch found that the region currently produces predominantly wine grapes and other deciduous fruit for export, whilst relying on imported food produce from other regions for consumption. High levels of food insecurity are recorded for areas within Stellenbosch and findings are presented on the food requirements for a nutritionally optimal diet for the region. Productive potential of the land and urban zones are translated into potential yield and compared with current and nutritionally optimal food demand. The findings suggest that Stellenbosch has the potential to produce enough food to meet all local requirements (both current and nutritionally optimal) but this would require drastic shifts in land use. A discussion is presented on optimal land use, comparing production of wine grapes for export with food production for local consumption. The conclusions drawn from the thesis suggest that in the context of current food, livelihood and environmental insecurity and future vulnerability as a result of increasing demand, climate change and peak oil, local food economies have a vital role to play in promoting sustainability. Stellenbosch is currently vulnerable with a high dependency on export markets for local produce and imported produce for local consumption. Building a stronger local food economy in Stellenbosch has the potential to create opportunities to address challenges of poverty and inequality, build resilience and promote environmental sustainability. The recommendations of the thesis are to boost local production of key food crops suitable to the region, actively invest in the strengthening of local distribution networks that connect local producers more directly to local consumers and to build a local food movement with consumers through education and awareness. Several opportunities for further scholarship are presented. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die hoofdoel van hierdie tesis is om voedselekonomieë as 'n instrument van volhoubaarheid aan te moedig. Spesifiek gekose literatuur en 'n ondersoek na die huidige voedselproduksiesituasie, verspreiding en die verbruik van voedsel in Stellenbosch is gebruik om voorstelle te maak vir verhoogde volhoubaarheid in die toekoms deur die gebruik van die voedselsisteem in Stellenbosch. Uit die literatuurstudie is gevind dat moderne voedselsisteme neig na die eksternalisasie van sosiale- en omgewingskostes en dus die sekuriteit van voedsel, lewensonderhoud en 'n gesonde omgewing vir gemeenskappe reg oor die wereld bedreig. Die lokalisering van voedselsisteme beteken nie noodwendig dat die vrystelling van uitlaatgasse wat tot aardverwarming bydra verminder word nie, maar dit dra wel by tot volhoubaarheid deur gemeenskapsnetwerke en gemeenskapsbande te versterk. Sterker gemeenskappe dra verder by tot meer veerkragtige herstel en moedig aanspreeklikheid en die internalisasie van sosiale- en omgewingskostes aan. Uitdagings in die nabye toekoms, soos populasiegroei, verstedeliking, klimaatsverandering, die intensifisering van omgewingsdegradering en die olie-piek, gaan die manier hoe voedsel geproduseer en versprei word drasties verander. Plaaslike voedselekonomieë word dus as 'n alternatiewe voedselsisteem voorgestel, omdat dit sosiale-, ekonomiese- en omgewingskapitaal opbou op gemeenskapsvlak en dit 'n meer veerkragte herstelvermoë gee om effektief te reageer op toekomstige skokke en bedreigings. Navorsing oor die huidige produksie, verspreiding en gebruik van voedsel in Stellenbosch het bevind dat die streek hoofsaaklik wyndruiwe en ander sagte vrugte produseer vir die uitvoermark, terwyl dit op invoere staatmaak vir plaaslike gebruik. Hoë vlakke van voedselonsekerheid in areas in en om Stellenbosch is aangeteken en die bevindinge word aangebied in terme van die optimale voedsame dieet vir die omgewing. Die potensiaal vir die produktiwiteit van landelike en stedelik gebiede in Stellenbosch word vertaal as die potensiële oes en word vergelyk met huidige en die optimale voedsame voedsel aanvraag. Daar is in die navorsing bevind dat Stellenbosch die potensiaal het om genoeg voedsel te produseer om in alle plaaslike vereistes (beide huidiglik en optimaal voedsaam) te voldoen, met 'n drastiese verandering in grondgebruik. Voorstelle word v gemaak oor die optimale gebruik van grond deur die produksie van wyndruiwe vir uitvoer te vergelyk met voedselproduksie vir plaaslike gebruik. Die gevolgtrekkings dui daarop dat die huidige voedsel-, lewensonderhoud- en omgewingsonsekerheid, tesame met 'n toekomstige kwesbaarheid as gevolg van verhoogde aanvraag, klimaatsverandering en die olie-piek, beteken dat plaaslike ekonomieë 'n belangrike rol gaan speel in volhoubaarheid. Stellenbosch is tans kwesbaar omdat dit staatmaak op uitvoer van plaaslike produkte en op ingevoerde produkte vir plaaslike gebruik. Deur 'n sterker plaaslike voedselsisteem te bou, kan Stellenbosch geleenthede skep om armoede en ongelykheid aan te spreek, 'n veerkragtige herstelvermoë te bou en omgewingsvolhoubaarheid aan te moedig. Die voorstelle in hierdie tesis sluit in om plaaslike produksie van sleutel voedselgewasse wat volhoubaar is te verhoog, om aktief te bele in die versterking van plaaslike verspreidingsnetwerke wat plaaslike produseerders en gebruikers direk verbind en om 'n plaaslike voedselbeweging daar te stel deur gepaste opvoeding en bewusmaking. Verskeie geleenthede bestaan vir verdere navorsing.

The main theme of this work is the local food and local multiplier, which is an indicator of sustainable development. The aim of this indicator and as well as this work is to determine how much local money stay in this area. By way of local food is outlined the impact of the economic localization on social, environmental and also economic aspects of sustainability. The theoretical part covers topics such as the Anthropocene, globalization, economic growth, localization and promotion of local food in the Czech Republic. Further is described the local multiplier and its use. The research includes a brief assessment of the situation of sales of local food in Pilsen and in particular, the calculations of local multiplier of farm shop in Pilsen. Furthermore this method and the results are evaluated. The thesis is combination of social and cultural ecology and Keynesianism with emphasis on the concept of the multiplier. Firstly, the aim is to calculate the value of the local multiplier and also evaluate the use of this tool. Since assuming positive influence of the farm shop on the local economy, the result of the indicator could be another argument for strengthening efforts in promoting local food and localization.

Local food networks are often defined as presenting a variety of alternative food production, consumption, and distribution practices to the conventional food system such as community-supported-agriculture, farmers markets, and community gardens. Local food initiatives are commonly proposed as a model for the future of sustainable agriculture, and in the region of Portland, Oregon the abundance of such alternative venues results from the area's natural surroundings and smart planning. The region is host to 39 farmers markets and Portland is often hailed as one of the country's most sustainable cities. This study examines the role of local food networks in preserving agricultural land uses and livelihoods in Washington County, Oregon, a rapidly growing county adjacent to the city of Portland. I focus on small-scale agricultural landscapes where the producer sells at farmers markets or through community supported agriculture (CSAs). I explore farmers' concerns about urbanization and farmland preservation, their relationship to urban markets, motives to become a farmer, engagement with the surrounding environment, and their difficulties participating in local food networks. In addition, I explore farmers market managers' insights into the development of local food networks and how they see their markets supporting small-scale farmers. In a survey of consumers I examine consumer motives to `buy local' and consumer concerns about farmland preservation. The research is qualitative and explores: 1) the processes shaping the development of local food networks; 2) how particular ideas and images of nature and the countryside inform both consumer desires to purchase from farmers selling locally and; 3) how those same images of nature and the countryside inform and motivate people to become farmers participating in local food networks. In so doing, I argue that the networks that sustain urban and rural systems are important in understanding the development of local food networks, and that the preservation of economically and culturally important agricultural lands in Washington County depends on a diversity of opinions and rural narratives in order to preserve small-scale sustainable farmlands close-in to cities. The conclusion is that local food sold through alternative venues can be used as a means to preserve and develop specific and manageable farm sites and agricultural land uses but the impact is limited. Large scale impacts on agricultural land uses and livelihoods will depend on planners and advocates agreeing on policies that encompass a diversity of opinions, land uses, and land managers, while understanding the array of networks beyond the city that sustain both urban and rural systems.

This project explores the agricultural heritage and current social landscape of the Stinking Creek community of Knox County, Kentucky, and the legacy of the local nonprofit organization the Lend-A-Hand Center. Through participatory research, this project presents a reflexive account of the Lend-A-Hand Center Grow Appalachia Gardening Program examining the diverse economy of the Stinking Creek watershed and possibilities for new economic imaginings and post-coal futures for central Appalachia. This dissertation includes an oral history project, a theoretical examination, and an ethnographic reflection, bridging several literatures in the fields of agricultural history, Appalachian Studies, Participatory Action Research, research within the diverse economy framework, and feminist political ecology. For three years I coordinated the Grow Appalachia program through the Lend-A-Hand Center, developing agricultural initiatives in Knox County, working to re-localize food systems through home gardens, community gardens, and the establishment of the Knox County Farmers’ Market, and gathering stories through oral histories on the Creek. Problematizing the 1967 book Stinking Creek, by John Fetterman, this account of the community seeks to call attention to the importance of critical analyses of representations of people, processes, and places. In the face of pressing social issues in central Appalachia and renewed interest in the discourses of development, local food, and post-coal transition, this work seeks to intervene in region-wide discussions and suggest avenues for change and possibility. The Lend-A-Hand Center Grow Appalachia Gardening Program illustrates the potentials for community-based agriculture projects in the region to promote a variety of economic processes, foster and preserve agricultural traditions, and impact the conversation about outlooks for the region. This research provides policy and programmatic suggestions regarding the importance of relocalization of food systems and different (re)presentations of community narratives as part of a multifaceted agenda toward a just, sustainable future for eastern Kentucky and the region.

The local food movement in the Portland Metro Region of Oregon is as prevalent as anywhere in the Country. To a large degree this is driven by the Portland Metro area food culture and the diverse agricultural landscape present in the Willamette Valley and throughout the State. Portlanders demand local food and thus far the rural periphery has been able to provide it; driving a new food economy that has economic implications throughout the region. As this regional food economy emerges much attention has been focused on harnessing its power for economic development perpetuated by the belief that there exists an opportunity to foster a cluster of economic activity pertaining to the production, processing, distribution and sale of regional foods that might generate economic opportunities throughout the value chain. The research presented here constitutes an attempt to characterize the local and regional food system that currently exists in the Portland Metro Region and to bring to light the opportunities present at the regional scale that link the agricultural periphery to the urban core. I present two different definitions of local and regional food systems and show how these different conceptions have very different implications for economic development. Once defined, I test for differences between local and regional food systems and the export-oriented, agro-food sector by analyzing aspects of geographic space and processes of knowledge accumulation and innovation in the context of aspects of regional economic development such as agglomeration economies, knowledge spillovers, business life cycle and industrial location. My analysis showed that there are significant differences between local and regional food systems and the export-oriented agro-food industry specific to supply chains, actors and products of the different systems. Furthermore, through spatial analysis, I found that there are differences in terms of the spatial structure and distribution between producers who participate in the different systems. Local and regional producers tend to cluster closer together at smaller scales, are smaller in size and are found to be closer to the urban core. Through a qualitative inquiry I found that this clustering facilitates forces of agglomeration economies specific to food producers who participate in local and regional supply chains, particularly non-pecuniary effects of knowledge accumulation. This underlying structure has significant effects on economic outcomes and as such has implications in terms of regional economic development when local and regional food systems are considered in terms of the city-region.