Journal Articles by Anelyse Weiler
Rural Sociology, 2022
Against the decades-long trend of aging farmers and farmland consolidation in the United States a... more Against the decades-long trend of aging farmers and farmland consolidation in the United States and Canada, value-added farm production has been pitched as a lifeline to provide viable rural livelihoods for younger generations. How do producers perceive the possibilities and limitations of value-added craft production in supporting agrarian livelihoods? More broadly, how are contemporary structural constraints and cultural shifts shaping new agrarian strategies? This article draws on in-depth interviews and ethnographic data with urban and farm-based cidermakers in the Pacific Northwest (British Columbia, Washington State, and Oregon). I find that while craft cider has helped buffer some producers against the volatility of selling raw fruit to large commodity markets, the benefits of this niche market do not widely support continued primary production or farm succession. I underscore the emergence of a livelihood strategy I refer to as “bridging agrarianism” among young cidermakers who wish to maintain a connection to agriculture but are shifting away from full-time farming due to lifestyle preferences and economic constraints. Bridging agrarianism is manifest in modest forms of on-site production that carry great symbolic weight. This study provides insight into how current generations of agriculturalists are developing new strategic responses to the political-economic challenges of farming.
Dialectical Anthropology, 2019
Health Policy and Planning, 2015
There has been growing policy interest in social justice issues related to both health and food. ... more There has been growing policy interest in social justice issues related to both health and food. We sought to understand the state of knowledge on relationships between health equity-i.e. health inequalities that are socially produced-and food systems, where the concepts of 'food security' and 'food sovereignty' are prominent. We undertook exploratory scoping and mapping stages of a 'meta-narrative synthesis' on pathways from global food systems to health equity outcomes. The review was oriented by a conceptual framework delineating eight pathways to health (in)equity through the food system: 1-Multi-Scalar Environmental, Social Context; 2-Occupational Exposures; 3-Environmental Change; 4-Traditional Livelihoods, Cultural Continuity; 5-Intake of Contaminants; 6-Nutrition; 7-Social Determinants of Health and 8-Political, Economic and Regulatory context. The terms 'food security' and 'food sovereignty' were, respectively, paired with a series of health equity-related terms. Combinations of health equity and food security (1414 citations) greatly outnumbered pairings with food sovereignty (18 citations). Prominent crosscutting themes that were observed included climate change, biotechnology, gender, racialization, indigeneity, poverty, citizenship and HIV as well as institutional barriers to reducing health inequities in the food system. The literature indicates that food sovereignty-based approaches to health in specific contexts, such as advancing healthy school food systems, promoting soil fertility, gender equity and nutrition, and addressing structural racism, can complement the longer-term socio-political restructuring processes that health equity requires. Our conceptual model offers a useful starting point for identifying interventions with strong potential to promote health equity. A research agenda to explore project-based interventions in the food system along these pathways can support the identification of ways to strengthen both food sovereignty and health equity. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work properly cited. For commercial re-use, Crosscutting themes in English-language literature on food security and health equity include climate change, biotechnology, gender, racialization, indigeneity, poverty, citizenship and HIV as well as institutional barriers to reducing health inequities in the food system.
Health Policy and Planning, 2014
There has been growing policy interest in social justice issues related to both health and food. ... more There has been growing policy interest in social justice issues related to both health and food. We sought to understand the state of knowledge on relationships between health equity-i.e. health inequalities that are socially produced-and food systems, where the concepts of 'food security' and 'food sovereignty' are prominent. We undertook exploratory scoping and mapping stages of a 'meta-narrative synthesis' on pathways from global food systems to health equity outcomes. The review was oriented by a conceptual framework delineating eight pathways to health (in)equity through the food system: 1-Multi-Scalar Environmental, Social Context; 2-Occupational Exposures; 3-Environmental Change; 4-Traditional Livelihoods, Cultural Continuity; 5-Intake of Contaminants; 6-Nutrition; 7-Social Determinants of Health and 8-Political, Economic and Regulatory context. The terms 'food security' and 'food sovereignty' were, respectively, paired with a series of health equity-related terms. Combinations of health equity and food security (1414 citations) greatly outnumbered pairings with food sovereignty (18 citations). Prominent crosscutting themes that were observed included climate change, biotechnology, gender, racialization, indigeneity, poverty, citizenship and HIV as well as institutional barriers to reducing health inequities in the food system. The literature indicates that food sovereignty-based approaches to health in specific contexts, such as advancing healthy school food systems, promoting soil fertility, gender equity and nutrition, and addressing structural racism, can complement the longer-term socio-political restructuring processes that health equity requires. Our conceptual model offers a useful starting point for identifying interventions with strong potential to promote health equity. A research agenda to explore project-based interventions in the food system along these pathways can support the identification of ways to strengthen both food sovereignty and health equity. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work properly cited. For commercial re-use, Crosscutting themes in English-language literature on food security and health equity include climate change, biotechnology, gender, racialization, indigeneity, poverty, citizenship and HIV as well as institutional barriers to reducing health inequities in the food system.
In this policy commentary, I highlight opportunities to advance equity and dignity for racialized... more In this policy commentary, I highlight opportunities to advance equity and dignity for racialized migrant workers from less affluent countries who are hired through low-wage agricultural streams of Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Core features of the program such as 'tied' work permits, non-citizenship, and workers' deportability make it risky for migrant farm workers to exercise their rights. I discuss five federal policy interventions to strengthen justice for migrant farm workers in Canada: 1) permanent resident status; 2) equal access to social protections; 3) open work permits; 4) democratic business ownership; and 5) trade policy that respects community self-determination. To realize a food system that enables health, freedom and dignity for all members of our communities, a Food Policy for Canada cannot be for Canadians alone.
Temporary farm labour migration schemes in Canada have been justified on the premise that they bo... more Temporary farm labour migration schemes in Canada have been justified on the premise that they bolster food security for Canadians by addressing agricultural labour shortages, while tempering food insecurity in the Global South via remittances. Such appeals hinge on an ideology defining migrants as racialized outsiders to Canada. Drawing on qualitative interviews and participant observation in Mexico, Jamaica and Canada, we critically analyse how Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program is tied to ideological claims about national food security and agrarianism, and how it purports to address migrant workers’ own food insecurity. We argue remittances only partially, temporarily mitigate food insecurity and fail to strengthen migrant food sovereignty. Data from our clinical encounters with farm workers illustrate structural barriers to healthy food access and negative health consequences. We propose an agenda for further research, along with policies to advance food security and food sovereignty for both migrants and residents of Canada.
Health Policy and Planning, Oct 2014
There has been growing policy interest in social justice issues related to both health and food. ... more There has been growing policy interest in social justice issues related to both health and food. We sought to understand the state of knowledge on relationships between health equity—i.e. health inequalities that are socially produced—and food systems, where the concepts of ‘food security’ and ‘food sovereignty’ are prominent. We undertook exploratory scoping and mapping stages of a ‘meta-narrative synthesis’ on pathways from global food systems to health equity outcomes. The review was oriented by a conceptual framework delineating eight pathways to health (in)equity through the food system: 1—Multi-Scalar Environmental, Social Context; 2—Occupational Exposures; 3—Environmental Change; 4—Traditional Livelihoods, Cultural Continuity; 5—Intake of Contaminants; 6—Nutrition; 7—Social Determinants of Health and 8—Political, Economic and Regulatory context. The terms ‘food security’ and ‘food sovereignty’ were, respectively, paired with a series of health equity-related terms. Combinations of health equity and food security (1414 citations) greatly outnumbered pairings with food sovereignty (18 citations). Prominent crosscutting themes that were observed included climate change, biotechnology, gender, racialization, indigeneity, poverty, citizenship and HIV as well as institutional barriers to reducing health inequities in the food system. The literature indicates that food sovereignty-based approaches to health in specific contexts, such as advancing healthy school food systems, promoting soil fertility, gender equity and nutrition, and addressing structural racism, can complement the longer-term socio-political restructuring processes that health equity requires. Our conceptual model offers a useful starting point for identifying interventions with strong potential to promote health equity. A research agenda to explore project-based interventions in the food system along these pathways can support the identification of ways to strengthen both food sovereignty and health equity.
Alternative food networks face both challenges and opportunities in rethinking the role of precar... more Alternative food networks face both challenges and opportunities in rethinking the role of precarious employment in food system transformation. We explore how alternative food networks in British Columbia, Canada have engaged with flexible and precarious work regimes for farmworkers, including both temporary migrant workers and un(der)paid agricultural interns. Based on in-depth interviews, participant observation and document analysis, we find that alternative food actors often normalize a precarious work regime using a moral economy frame. This framing describes precarious farm employment as either a necessary challenge in the transition to sustainability, or merely involving a few individual " bad apple " farmers. Further, this framing involves an aversion to " one-size-fits-all " regulation by the state in favor of consumer-driven regulation of labor standards. Our analysis suggests that a moral economy framing can obscure systemic inequities in precarious farm employment and dampen the impetus for structural change through collective food movement organizing.
Resumen: Las redes alimentarias alternativas enfrentan tanto desafíos como oportuni-dades para repensar el papel del empleo precario en la transformación del sistema alimentario. Aquí exploramos las redes alimentarias alternativas en Colombia Británica, Canadá, y cómo se han involucrado en regímenes laborales flexibles y precarios para los trabajadores agrícolas, incluyendo tanto trabajadores migrantes como internos agrícolas impagos o pagados por debajo del salario mínimo. Nuestros hallazgos, basados en entrevistas a profundidad, observación participativa y análisis documental, indican que los actores en las redes alternativas a menudo normalizan un régimen laboral precario utilizando un enmarcado narrativo de economía moral. Este enmarcado describe el empleo agrícola precario ya sea como un desafío necesario en la transición hacia la sustentabilidad, o bien como algo que sólo involucra algunos agricultores que serían " manzanas podridas " en un sistema por lo demás justo. Además, este enmarcado involucra una aversión a cualquier regulación que haga tabla raza en su aplicación por parte del Estado, ya sea a favor de reglas promovidas por el consumidor o para reglamentar los estándares laborales. Nuestro análisis sugiere que el enmarcado de la economía moral puede oscurecer las desigualdades sistémicas en el empleo agrícola precario y disminuir el ímpetu por el cambio estructural a través de la organización de un movimiento alimentario colectivo.
Despite popular momentum behind North American civil society initiatives to advance social justic... more Despite popular momentum behind North American civil society initiatives to advance social justice and ecological resilience in the food system, food movements have had limited success engaging with migrant farmworkers. This article describes a partnership between a nonprofit food network organization in Ontario, Canada, with a mandate to advance healthy food and farming across the region and university researchers. The purpose of this community-based research was to gather a broad range of actionable ideas from key informants to advance health and equity conditions of migrant farmworkers. "Key solution ideas" were gathered primarily through 11 in-depth interviews and ongoing feedback from relevant actors. We reflect on the unique features of approaching this often-divisive area of inquiry through a university-community partnership. Reviewing the solution ideas, we categorize proposals for advancing farmworker health and equity under four broad themes: (a) health and safety, (b) farmworker recruitment and mobility, (c) community building and social integration, and (d) immigration policy. We then critically evaluate the constraints and opportunities for addressing proposals through a network-based food organization that takes a "big tent" approach to collaborative action on polarizing issues. A tension for such organizations is taking meaningful action while avoiding overly polarizing political stances, which can alienate some members and neglect obligations to funders. Notwithstanding such tensions, community-university research partnerships have the potential to expand spaces for advancing equity with farmworkers. As food networks are seeking to build meaningful alliances with migrant justice and labour movements, this study provides a timely contribution to literature and practice at the intersection of community-based participatory research, sustainable food networks, labour, and immigration.
Interest in food movements has been growing dramatically, but until recently there has been limit... more Interest in food movements has been growing dramatically, but until recently there has been limited engagement with the challenges facing workers across the food system. Of the studies that do exist, there is little focus on the processes and relationships that lead to solutions. This article explores ways that community-engaged teaching and research partnerships can help to build meaningful justice with food workers. The text builds on a special roundtable session held at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers in Chicago in April 2015, which involved a range of academic scholars and community-based activists. We present these insights through a discussion of key perspectives on collaborative research and teaching and learning as food-labor scholar-activists. We argue that despite significant gaps in the way that food movements are addressing labor issues, community-campus collaborations present an opportunity for building alliances to foster food justice. Building on our collective analysis and reflection, we point to five recommendations for fostering collaboration: connecting to personal experience; building trust; developing common strategies; building on previous community efforts; and, appreciating power differences and reciprocating accordingly. We conclude with some final thoughts on future research directions.
Book Reviews by Anelyse Weiler
Alberta Views, Jul 31, 2017
Four books published between 2013 and 2014 make a vital contribution towards understanding the po... more Four books published between 2013 and 2014 make a vital contribution towards understanding the political and ideological tools by which states and employers construct hyper-exploitable agricultural workers. In this review essay, we provide an assessment of how these books have advanced our understandings of migrant farm labour regimes in local and international perspectives. After presenting a synopsis of each text, we critically reflect on key lessons learned, offer questions that merit further attention, and suggest directions for future research. Our review finds that despite wide differences in geopolitical and legal contexts in which migrant agricultural workers cross borders , live and work, there are remarkable resemblances in the ways in which states use (and abuse) migrant labour. Likewise, there are glaring similarities in the consequent vulnerabilities migrants experience. While each author provides compelling and empirically rich observations based on local fields of study, generally lacking are broader global connections and policy discussions about how the problems raised can be meaningfully addressed. Given the seeming ubiquity of exploit-ative migrant agricultural worker regimes, the fundamental question left largely unanswered is: Must 'local' agricultural systems depend on vulnerable imported workers in order to provide affordable food for consumers, or are there workable alternatives to this arrangement?
Canadian Food Studies, May 2015
Journal of Latin American Studies, Jan 14, 2015
Reports by Anelyse Weiler
Highlights the initial 'key solution ideas' gathered as part of a collaborative research project ... more Highlights the initial 'key solution ideas' gathered as part of a collaborative research project with Sustain Ontario on how to advance health equity and justice with migrant farm workers. These initial findings were also published as part of a 7-part blog series called "Know Farm Workers, Know Food: Sustaining Ontario Migrant Labour Livelihoods" on sustainontario.com and j4mw.tumblr.com.
Op-Eds by Anelyse Weiler
Vancouver Sun
Co-author David Fairey
The Conversation, National Post
Co-authored with Amy Cohen.
Uploads
Journal Articles by Anelyse Weiler
Resumen: Las redes alimentarias alternativas enfrentan tanto desafíos como oportuni-dades para repensar el papel del empleo precario en la transformación del sistema alimentario. Aquí exploramos las redes alimentarias alternativas en Colombia Británica, Canadá, y cómo se han involucrado en regímenes laborales flexibles y precarios para los trabajadores agrícolas, incluyendo tanto trabajadores migrantes como internos agrícolas impagos o pagados por debajo del salario mínimo. Nuestros hallazgos, basados en entrevistas a profundidad, observación participativa y análisis documental, indican que los actores en las redes alternativas a menudo normalizan un régimen laboral precario utilizando un enmarcado narrativo de economía moral. Este enmarcado describe el empleo agrícola precario ya sea como un desafío necesario en la transición hacia la sustentabilidad, o bien como algo que sólo involucra algunos agricultores que serían " manzanas podridas " en un sistema por lo demás justo. Además, este enmarcado involucra una aversión a cualquier regulación que haga tabla raza en su aplicación por parte del Estado, ya sea a favor de reglas promovidas por el consumidor o para reglamentar los estándares laborales. Nuestro análisis sugiere que el enmarcado de la economía moral puede oscurecer las desigualdades sistémicas en el empleo agrícola precario y disminuir el ímpetu por el cambio estructural a través de la organización de un movimiento alimentario colectivo.
Book Reviews by Anelyse Weiler
Reports by Anelyse Weiler
Op-Eds by Anelyse Weiler
Resumen: Las redes alimentarias alternativas enfrentan tanto desafíos como oportuni-dades para repensar el papel del empleo precario en la transformación del sistema alimentario. Aquí exploramos las redes alimentarias alternativas en Colombia Británica, Canadá, y cómo se han involucrado en regímenes laborales flexibles y precarios para los trabajadores agrícolas, incluyendo tanto trabajadores migrantes como internos agrícolas impagos o pagados por debajo del salario mínimo. Nuestros hallazgos, basados en entrevistas a profundidad, observación participativa y análisis documental, indican que los actores en las redes alternativas a menudo normalizan un régimen laboral precario utilizando un enmarcado narrativo de economía moral. Este enmarcado describe el empleo agrícola precario ya sea como un desafío necesario en la transición hacia la sustentabilidad, o bien como algo que sólo involucra algunos agricultores que serían " manzanas podridas " en un sistema por lo demás justo. Además, este enmarcado involucra una aversión a cualquier regulación que haga tabla raza en su aplicación por parte del Estado, ya sea a favor de reglas promovidas por el consumidor o para reglamentar los estándares laborales. Nuestro análisis sugiere que el enmarcado de la economía moral puede oscurecer las desigualdades sistémicas en el empleo agrícola precario y disminuir el ímpetu por el cambio estructural a través de la organización de un movimiento alimentario colectivo.