Reflections on food, farming & policy
Sustainability is a central theme in my academic research. This is a vague word that can be used (and misused) because of its flexibility. Pamela Mason and Tim Lang recently addressed the concept in their book 'Sustainable Diets' (2017), and took it beyond the typical "social, environmental, economic" pieces, and added elements of social justice, governance, and (GASP!) taste, satisfaction and cultural ties - not such wild ideas when it comes to food, right?!
It’s been 17 years since I lived on a farm.
I grew up on two farms… the first was 12 acres with forests, ponds, a river and lots of animals. I have memories of wandering into the woods by myself (or with whatever curious horse or adventurous cat felt like tagging along) as a child of under ten, and discovering. Plants, animals, and my own senses. Before I knew how to conceptualise them in such terms, I learned of lifecycles, seasonality, ecosystems, soil structures. Nature became a source of innumerable observations that wove themselves together in the mind of a child, to the point that they lost the status of having been learned, but were simply innate knowledge.
I research food: More specifically, I research how people - citizens and councils -make local-level food policy, and what people think sustainability means when it comes to locally produced food. Previously, I did research on rooftop urban agriculture. ...
...But starting a farm means a different kind of research.
