Two Paths to Sustainable Farming: Gender, Care-work, and Finding Common Ground in the Bible Belt

Abstract

According to the 2012 United States Agricultural Census, women are a growing demographic in sustainable agriculture and a shrinking one in conventional agriculture. Relative to the number of female farmers, women are farming sustainably at a higher rate than men. Through in-depth interviews with sustainable farmers in Kansas and Missouri, this research examines explicit motivations and illustrates how habitus has influences women’s agricultural trajectory and changes the community and the developing local food systems they participate in. I find that women may seek out sustainable farming as an extension of care-work for their family, community, and/or environment. Though first-time farmers and those from farming families express opposing ideological motivations, in many ways they function in collaboration with each other to educate, share best practices, and build awareness and demand for locally grown sustainable food.