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Graduation Date

Spring 5-11-2024

Document Type

Portfolio

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Degree Name

Environmental Studies

School or Department

Environmental Studies

Abstract

This master's portfolio, "'My Body Is Fertile Ground': Exploring Relational Agriculture Through Gender, Body, and Local Food Policy," explores the concept of relational agriculture through multiple forms of practice. It comprises three parts: a personal essay discussing the author's experiences with the land as a young woman with a turbulent relationship with her own body; a literature review on gender dynamics in alternative agricultural spaces; and a survey report and a USDA Census of Agriculture data brief produced during an internship with two local food entities.

The first piece, "My Body Is Fertile Ground," details the author's experience with an eating disorder and how coming back to the land through farming helped heal her. Structured in five distinct sections titled by each step in the process of growing onions from seed during a western Montana growing season, “My Body Is Fertile Ground” weaves the sensual, relational, integral work of farming with a personal story of falling away from, and then coming back to, oneself and one's body. The essay discusses what it feels like to be a young woman with an eating disorder, the confusing juxtaposition of anorexia and growing food, and more. Ultimately, "My Body Is Fertile Ground" explores relational agriculture not only as it relates to farm work but also how it can, and must, apply to one’s experiences within their own body.

The second piece, "Gender in Alternative Agriculture: A Review of the Literature," is a review of the existing literature addressing the significant presence of women in agriculture spaces considered "alternative" to the dominant system of industrial agriculture. This review asks the following three questions of the literature: Why are women attracted to alternative agriculture? What do we know about gender issues in alternative agriculture and how they are different from those in conventional agriculture? And how can farmers, academics, movement leaders, and consumers lift up underrepresented voices in the shift from conventional to alternative agriculture? Studies on topics including women farmer networks, embodiment, masculinity, agricultural education, and relational agriculture revealed three explanations for each question. First, women are attracted to alternative agriculture spaces largely because, in comparison to conventional agriculture, they have lower barriers to entry, uphold different values, and promote holistic empowerment and identity affirmation. Next, what we know about gender issues in alternative agriculture can be categorized as: tension between productive vs. reproductive work; credibility and valuation of work, including who counts as a “farmer”; and the oppressive structure of hegemonic masculinity. Lastly, farmers, academics, movement leaders, and consumers can lift up underrepresented voices in the shift from conventional to alternative agriculture by addressing limitations and gaps in the research; increasing focus on queer farmers and feminist methodologies; and increasing visibility and support for women farmer networks.

The third piece comprises the two projects the author completed while working as the Local Food Policy Research and Community Outreach Intern for the Missoula City-County Food Policy Advisory Board and the Community Food and Agriculture Coalition (CFAC) in Missoula, MT. The first project was working on the 2024 Missoula County Rapid Community Food Assessment, which culminated in a survey report. The second project was analyzing data from the 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture, which culminated in a data brief on trends in producer demographics in Missoula County and the state of Montana across 20 years (Census years from 2002 to 2022). Both the report and the brief are now resources for the Missoula City-County Food Policy Advisory Board and CFAC to inform policy recommendations and programming.

Keywords

Relational Agriculture, Relationality, Right Relations, Right Relationship, Alternative Agriculture, Industrial Agriculture, Gender In Agriculture, Gender In Alternative Agriculture, Women In Alternative Agriculture, Women In Agriculture, Woman Farmers, Queer Farmers, Love v. Vilsack, Garcia v. Vilsack, Local Food Policy, Food Policy, Agriculture Policy, Food Policy Board, Food Policy Council, Montana Agriculture, Community Food Assessment, USDA Census of Agriculture, Eating Disorders, Anorexia

Subject Categories

Agricultural and Resource Economics | Agriculture | Environmental Studies | Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Food Studies | Nonfiction

'My Body Is Fertile Ground': Exploring Relational Agriculture Through Gender, Body, and Local Food Policy

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