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Date of Award

Spring 2024

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Department or Program Affiliation

ENVS

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Environmental Studies

First Advisor

Darby, Kate J.

Second Advisor

Laninga, Tamara Jean

Third Advisor

Neff, Mark W.

Abstract

The local food movement (LFM), positioned as a challenge to the dominant industrial agri-food system (IAFS), has become increasingly visible in the United States cultural mainstream since the 1990s. For LFM advocates, local food consumption promises personal (e.g., enhanced nutrition, higher quality), economic (i.e., supporting small-scale producers, keeping money in the community), and environmental (e.g., organic and/or regenerative production methods) benefits. However, a body of theoretical literature advanced by political economists, critical sociologists, and critical geographers suggests that the prevalence of neoliberal notions of individual responsibility in LFM discourse may—at a basic level—reproduce some of the very processes the movement seeks to resist. These critiques have a robust theoretical foundation, but empirical research is lacking to support their conclusions. In response to this gap in the literature, I employed Q methodology to characterize four shared social perspectives concerning the personal, ethical, and political implications of buying local food for a group of consumers in Bellingham, WA. Two of these perspectives are clearly individualistic in their thinking, suggesting that—for my participant group—the theory holds some weight. However, through pragmatism and community support-oriented thinking respectively, the remaining two perspectives each resisted neoliberal rationalities in different ways. Hence, my findings point to the Bellingham LFM as a space of tension—simultaneously excercising and resisting neoliberal governmentality. With this in mind, I argue that a more effective LFM would encourage consumer participation in the language of relational community support rather than individual responsibility.

Type

Text

Keywords

local food, ethical consumerism, neoliberalism, individualization, Q method

Publisher

Western Washington University

OCLC Number

1434771468

Subject – LCSH

Local foods--Washington (State)--Bellingham; Consumers--Washington (State)--Bellingham; Neoliberalism--Washington (State)--Bellingham; Q technique

Geographic Coverage

Bellingham (Wash.)

Format

application/pdf

Genre/Form

masters theses

Language

English

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

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