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Whose Sustainability? An Analysis of a Community Farming Program's Food Justice and Environmental Sustainability Agenda
Author(s) -
Davenport Sarah Grace,
Mishtal Joanna
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
culture, agriculture, food and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.308
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 2153-9561
pISSN - 2153-9553
DOI - 10.1111/cuag.12227
Subject(s) - sustainability , environmental justice , social sustainability , sustainability organizations , politics , sociology , economic justice , environmental ethics , sustainability science , agriculture , political science , environmental resource management , economic growth , geography , ecology , economics , law , philosophy , archaeology , biology
As the 1960s U.S. environmental movement gained momentum, sustainability and justice discourses surfaced to the forefront. While environmental justice discourse considers the unequal effects of environmental burdens, the language that frames “sustainability” is often socially and politically neutral. This paper critically examines the sustainability initiatives and practices of urban farming program in Florida. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in 2017, it explores the extent to which these initiatives consider a community's race and socioeconomic class when working to provide sustainably grown food in diverse communities. We argue that the program's initiatives overlook food justice concerns and use the same approach across disparate communities that focus on environmental rather than community benefits. Therefore, the program's non‐political approach neglects to integrate the experiences of those living on the margins. This research calls for a critical examination of sustainability practices, and the incorporation of social justice themes into sustainability agendas.