Justice Issues Facing Family-Scale Farmers and Their Laborers in the Northeastern United States

This study investigates how justice-related issues affect farmers and workers on organic farms in the northeastern United States. At the study's core is an examination of the current context of laborers in organic agriculture in the U.S. Northeast. The study analyzes the results of an online su...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Becca Berkey, Tania Schusler
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Lyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food Systems 2016-10-01
Series:Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/459
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author Becca Berkey
Tania Schusler
author_facet Becca Berkey
Tania Schusler
author_sort Becca Berkey
collection DOAJ
description This study investigates how justice-related issues affect farmers and workers on organic farms in the northeastern United States. At the study's core is an examination of the current context of laborers in organic agriculture in the U.S. Northeast. The study analyzes the results of an online survey of Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) farmer members to gather information about who labors on organic farms in the NOFA network and what unique justice issues they face. The survey results indicate that most of the farms within the network are small-scale and rely heavily on family members and volunteers for labor. Many of the justice issues related to labor arise from the difficulties these farmers experience achieving financial viability. This study increases understanding of the broader systemic context within which small-scale organic farmers make their commitments and decisions, and it illustrates how the justice-related experiences of both farmers and workers are affected by participation as small-scale organic farms in the larger agricultural system.
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spelling doaj.art-12d80e91f07c459dbbcf8cd80b8e0bf32023-08-02T04:27:03ZengLyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food SystemsJournal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development2152-08012016-10-016210.5304/jafscd.2016.062.017459Justice Issues Facing Family-Scale Farmers and Their Laborers in the Northeastern United StatesBecca Berkey0Tania Schusler1Northeastern UniversityLoyola University ChicagoThis study investigates how justice-related issues affect farmers and workers on organic farms in the northeastern United States. At the study's core is an examination of the current context of laborers in organic agriculture in the U.S. Northeast. The study analyzes the results of an online survey of Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) farmer members to gather information about who labors on organic farms in the NOFA network and what unique justice issues they face. The survey results indicate that most of the farms within the network are small-scale and rely heavily on family members and volunteers for labor. Many of the justice issues related to labor arise from the difficulties these farmers experience achieving financial viability. This study increases understanding of the broader systemic context within which small-scale organic farmers make their commitments and decisions, and it illustrates how the justice-related experiences of both farmers and workers are affected by participation as small-scale organic farms in the larger agricultural system.https://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/459Organic FarmingNortheastern United StatesFarm LaborSmall-Scale AgricultureFamily-Scale AgricultureFamily Farms
spellingShingle Becca Berkey
Tania Schusler
Justice Issues Facing Family-Scale Farmers and Their Laborers in the Northeastern United States
Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
Organic Farming
Northeastern United States
Farm Labor
Small-Scale Agriculture
Family-Scale Agriculture
Family Farms
title Justice Issues Facing Family-Scale Farmers and Their Laborers in the Northeastern United States
title_full Justice Issues Facing Family-Scale Farmers and Their Laborers in the Northeastern United States
title_fullStr Justice Issues Facing Family-Scale Farmers and Their Laborers in the Northeastern United States
title_full_unstemmed Justice Issues Facing Family-Scale Farmers and Their Laborers in the Northeastern United States
title_short Justice Issues Facing Family-Scale Farmers and Their Laborers in the Northeastern United States
title_sort justice issues facing family scale farmers and their laborers in the northeastern united states
topic Organic Farming
Northeastern United States
Farm Labor
Small-Scale Agriculture
Family-Scale Agriculture
Family Farms
url https://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/459
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AT taniaschusler justiceissuesfacingfamilyscalefarmersandtheirlaborersinthenortheasternunitedstates