Civic agriculture

Civic agriculture is the trend towards locally based agriculture and food production that is tightly linked to a community's social and economic development. It is also connected to the citizenship and environmentalism within a community.[1] Civic agriculture is geared towards meeting consumer demands in addition to boosting the local economy in the process through jobs, farm to food production efforts, and community sustainability.[1][2] The term was first coined by Thomas Lyson, professor of sociology at Cornell, to represent an alternative means of sustainability for rural agricultural communities in the era of industrialized agriculture.[2][3] Civic agriculture is geared towards fostering a self sustainable local economy through an integral community structure in which the entire community is in some part responsible for their food production.[3] Civic agriculture can provide a variety of benefits to a community such as cleaner water, fresher foods, and a better connection between farmers and the community.[4] However, there are also critiques that are concerned with the way in which civic agriculture promotes community responsibility and possibly creates a false sense of citizenship.[1] The intent of civic agricultural practices is to move away from the industrialized sector and into a localized community effort.

  1. ^ a b c Program., University of Florida. Humanities and Agriculture (2000). Agriculture and human values. [Kluwer]. pp. 217–224. OCLC 499757833.
  2. ^ a b Lyson, Thomas A. (2004). Civic Agriculture: Reconnecting Farm, Food, and Community. UPNE. pp. 1–22. ISBN 978-1-58465-414-8.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Kiernan, Nancy Ellen; Brasier, Kathy; Barbercheck, Mary; Sachs, Carolyn; Trauger, Amy (2010-03-01). ""Our market is our community": women farmers and civic agriculture in Pennsylvania, USA". Agriculture and Human Values. 27 (1): 43–55. doi:10.1007/s10460-008-9190-5. ISSN 1572-8366. S2CID 153557413.