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Multi-stakeholder initiatives and the divergent construction and implementation of sustainable agriculture in the USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 October 2017

Jason Konefal ,
Maki Hatanaka  and
Douglas H. Constance
Jason Konefal
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Sam Houston State University, USA
Maki Hatanaka
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Sam Houston State University, USA
Douglas H. Constance*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Sam Houston State University, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Douglas H. Constance, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) have emerged as a leading institutional approach for advancing sustainability globally. This paper examines three prominent MSIs that have developed sustainability metrics and a standard for US agriculture: Field to Market, the Stewardship Index for Specialty Crops and the National Sustainable Agricultural Standard Initiative. Using data from interviews and content analysis of initiative reports, two sets of analyses are presented. First, building on Paul Thompson's tri-partite theorization of sustainability, how each initiative is conceptualizing agricultural sustainability is analyzed. We find that two contrasting visions of sustainable agriculture for the USA have emerged from the three MSIs. One vision is a resource sufficiency approach focused on eco-efficiencies and the other vision is a functional integrity approach that emphasizes the maintenance of resilient agricultural and ecological systems. Second, we examine the governance practices of the MSIs to explain why such divergent conceptualizations of sustainability have been mapped out. We find that far from being a neutral forum, the internal dynamics of MSIs often reflect and reproduce existing power relationships among stakeholders. In concluding, we suggest that incremental improvements in sustainability can be achieved using MSIs, but more transformative changes may require other forms of governance.

Keywords

Agriculturegovernancemetricsstandardssustainability
Type
Research Paper
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 34 , Issue 4 , August 2019 , pp. 293 - 303
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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