Farmers markets surged in popularity in the United States over the past two decades. The negative consequences of large-scale,
industrialized agriculture and changing consumer interests together stimulated this drive towards alternative farming practices and local,
direct-from-producer foods. As a result, farmers markets created the opportunity for new, small-scale producers to enter the marketplace
and make a living off the land. The need persists to explore the social aspects of this food phenomenon from the perspective of the
farmer. Using in-depth interviews with farmers and fieldwork at several farmers markets, I examine how producers became and remained
vendors at farmers markets. In the first empirical analysis (Chapter 4), I use farmers' retrospective accounts to outline the ways farming
was discovered and the indirect and lengthy process of becoming a farmers market vendor. Along with market opportunity, I find that this
process was dependent on a combination of social support, personal determination and unforeseeable life circumstances. In my second
analysis (Chapter 5), I use a combination of interviews, fieldwork, and personal experience as a farmer and vendor to explore the spoken
and unspoken requirement for farmers to create an "authentic" farmers market. Farmers' success at the market depended on their ability to
create this authentic experience. I find that farmers used strictly enforced market rules and carefully crafted product displays, personal
presentations, and social interactions to meet customers' expectations of legitimate farmers and an authentic farmers market.
Additionally, I show how these expectations and presentations directly contrasted with the realities of life on the farm. Overall, my
research shows how socialized perceptions of farming determined farmers' willingness to adopt the occupation. Once in, farmers sustained
their place at the market by meeting customers' expectations and standards of authenticity. Often times this meant farmers had to cover
and hide the ugly aspects of their work. These findings show that expectations, meanings, and the social interactions that create and
maintain them are import factors to consider in research connecting food production and consumption. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sociology in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2016. / April 11, 2016. / Farmers Markets, Farming, Food, Identity, Social Construction / Includes bibliographical references. / Douglas Schrock, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jeffrey Broome, University Representative;
John Reynolds, Committee Member; Hernan Ramirez, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_360397 |
| Contributors | Lennon, Lindsey (authoraut), Schrock, Douglas P. (professor directing dissertation), Broome, Jeffrey L. (Jeffrey Lynn) (university representative), Reynolds, John K. (committee member), Ramirez, Hernan (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Social Sciences and Public Policy (degree granting college), Department of Sociology (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (155 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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