Date Thesis Awarded

4-2008

Access Type

Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only

Degree Name

Bachelors of Arts (BA)

Department

Interdisciplinary Studies

Advisor

Eric M. Engstrom

Committee Members

Joel D. Schwartz

William H. Fisher

Charlie Maloney

Abstract

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) was created in response to consumers' concerns about food safety and quality. However, it is more than just a way to get your groceries: CSA represents an attempt to completely reform the way Americans eat by forging a direct link between the farm and the dinner table, and in so doing refute the anonymous, industrial food production system that rose to prominence in the 20th century. In achieving these goals, CSA has taken on the form and aims of a revitalization movement as originally conceived by Anthony Wallace in 1956. Even though the revitalization model has traditionally been used to study spiritual movements of indigenous origin, its framework is equally applicable to a secular Western movement like CSA. By using Wallace's model we can trace the social and historical development of the movement and also shed light on the factors that have both contributed to its success and limited its growth. Furthermore, using Wallace's model in this way is the first step in directly comparing the history, goals, and membership of CSA with similar social movements as well as exploring more general questions about the future of sustainable agriculture in America.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Comments

Thesis is part of Honors ETD pilot project, 2008-2013. Migrated from Dspace in 2016.

Download

Share Feedback

On-Campus Access Only

Share

COinS