CONTESTED GLOBALIZATION OF THE AGRIFOOD SYSTEM: A MISSOURI SCHOOL ANALYSIS OF SANDERSON FARMS AND SEABOARD FARMS IN TEXAS

Article originally published in Southern Rural Sociology. Copyright owned by Southern Rural Sociology.The Missouri School of Agrifood Studies began with a focus on the power of agribusiness corporations in relation to quality of life of farmers and their related communities. The poultry industry was the first commodity studied, with later research into other commodity sectors and then the global dimensions of this process. In this paper I continue the Missouri School agenda by focusing on the entry of the poultry firm Sanderson Farms and the hog firm Seaboard Farms into Texas. This paper combines a sociology of the agrifood system conceptual framework with two case studies of agribusiness expansion in Texas to inform discussions regarding the characteristics of the globalization of the agrifood system. The results of the research indicate that the CAFO-based economic development strategies in Texas created significant controversies as local citizens organized to challenge the initiatives. This contested process of the globalization of the agrifood system was mediated by the state, mostly in favor of the agribusiness transnational corporations (TNCs).Sociolog

Globalization, Broiler Production, and Community Controversy in East Texas

The poultry industry was the first livestock commodity sector to adopt an industrial organizational model. In recent years the pouItry industry has expanded beyond national boundaries into a globalized system of production. The globalization of agriculture and food is a frequent topic of discussion for researchers interested in rural society. A common focus of these discussions is the consequences of corporate penetration on rural areas and the ways local communities respond to such corporate actions. This paper uses the case of the introduction of large-scale broiler production in East Texas combined with a sociology of agriculture and food conceptual framework to inform discussions regarding the community impacts of the globalization of the agrifood system. This paper concludes that economic development initiatives can experience legitimation crises as local social movement groups resist development strategies

Contested Globalization of the Agrifood System: A Missouri School Analysis of Sanderson Farms and Seaboard Farms in Texas

The Missouri School of Agrifood Studies began with a focus on the power of agribusiness corporations in relation to quality of life of farmers and their related communities. The poultry industry was the first commodity studied, with later research into other commodity sectors and then the global dimensions of this process. In this paper I continue the Missouri School agenda by focusing on the entry of the poultry firm Sanderson Farms and the hog firm Seaboard Farms into Texas. This paper combines a sociology of the agrifood system conceptual framework with two case studies of agribusiness expansion in Texas to inform discussions regarding the characteristics of the globalization of the agrifood system. The results of the research indicate that the CAFO-based economic development strategies in Texas created significant controversies as local citizens organized to challenge the initiatives. This contested process of the globalization of the agrifood system was mediated by the state, mostly in favor of the agribusiness transnational corporations (TNCs)

From Goldschmidt to Globalization: The Southern Model and Rural Development

2003 SRSA Presidential Addres

Rebirth Through Narrative: John Bunyan\u27s Autobiographies ( Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners ).

John Bunyan, while in Bedford gaol, composed two autobiographical narratives, one published in 1666, titled Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, and a second, published posthumously in 1765, titled A Relation of the Imprisonment of Mr. John Bunyan. Since its recovery, the Relation has been published as the concluding section of Grace Abounding, seemingly suggesting that the doubting sinner of Grace Abounding demonstrates his assurance of salvation by becoming the confident spokesman for dissent in the Relation. In this study, however, I argue that the Relation is Bunyan\u27s first self-construction from prison and Grace Abounding the second; thus the design of the two self-narrations reveals a surprising but significant movement from naive confidence to doubt and despair. When the self-construction of the Relation is lost, Bunyan must constitute himself anew through language; and, in doing so, he accomplishes the genesis of the self, a self whose rebirth has been achieved through narrative. In Chapter One, I discuss the importance of the design of Bunyan\u27s autobiographical act to the process of realizing and formalizing the truth of his life. In Chapter Two, I suggest that the naive, confident protagonist of the Relation, who first reports his story from Bedford gaol, has become by the narrative\u27s end an isolated, frustrated, and bitter figure whose efforts to win release have been foiled by duplicitous officials. The abrupt ending of the Relation marks the death of one self-construction, leaving the autobiographer silenced--both wordless and storyless. In Chapter Three, I suggest that after the accounts of the Relation end in 1662, Bunyan begins Grace Abounding in an effort to constitute himself anew through language, constructing in that narration a wordless and storyless child whose condition, representing the autobiographer\u27s, must be remedied. Chapters Four and Five demonstrate that reading and writing become acts of life through which the storyless child becomes the man who discovers the creative power of language and through this search discovers, also, an ending to his personal story that leads to the genesis of a self who chooses to risk the life of faith

CAFO CONTROVERSY IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE REGION: THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS OF HOG PRODUCTION

This is the Authors Accepted Version of the article published in 1999 by Culture and AgricultureIn this analysis we use the case of the expansion of mega hog operations in the Panhandle area of Texas to illustrate the strategies corporate actors employ to counter environmental concerns expressed by activist groups. To facilitate the growth of hogs CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations), corporate actors exert their influence over state environmental agencies and eliminate public participation from quality of the environment evaluation procedures. In response, activist groups use the courts to challenge the corporate strategies on the grounds that hog CAFOs compromise the physical and social environment of their communities. Pro-business interests respond through narrowing the definition of environmentally sound agricultural activities by stressing their conformity to existing environmental regulations and highlighting the economic benefits related to job expansion and monetary donations to cooperating communities. We conclude that the concept of the environment is a contested terrain made up of competing socially created discourses which need substantive rather than formal evaluations.Sociolog

Editors\u27 Preface

introduction to Journal of Rural Social Sciences by new editorial tea

Sustainable Agriculture and the Social Sciences: Getting Beyond Best Management Practices and into Food Systems

This paper introduces the special issue of Southern Rural Sociology and lays the groundwork for the rest of the papers. The genesis of this special issue flows from the efforts of the Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (S-SARE) program to bring more social science research into its portfolio of projects. Our concern is that by providing best management practices (Band-Aids) to a fundamentally unsustainable agricultural system, the sustainable agriculture movement (and SARE’s granting program) favors the environmental component at the expense of economic and social “legs” of the sustainable stool. While focusing on the history and work of the SARE program, we provided a social science perspective on sustainable agriculture

Marshallese Migrants and Poultry Processing

This descriptive study investigates the work and health conditions of Marshallese poultry-plant workers in Northwest Arkansas, a global center of the poultry industry. Poultry processing is very dangerous work including numerous human rights and ethical concerns. Processing work has historically been carried out by marginalized workers, such as women, minorities, and immigrants. The Marshallese, one of the Pacific Islander groups, are the latest wave of migrants sourced as processing workers. A survey was conducted with a site-based, convenience sample of current and former Marshallese poultry-plant workers. The final analysis was based on a total of 198 questionnaires. The study showed that Marshallese poultry workers experienced significant safety and health risks at work. It revealed similarities and differences between the Marshallese and previous worker groups. Although their special visa status makes them very attractive workers, their language barriers and health disparities created challenges for the Marshallese workers and the poultry industry