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Life Sciences

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University of Vermont

2023

Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Moving Towards An Anti-Colonial Definition For Regenerative Agriculture, Bryony Sands, Mario Machado, Alissa White, Eglee Zent, Rachelle K. Gould May 2023

Moving Towards An Anti-Colonial Definition For Regenerative Agriculture, Bryony Sands, Mario Machado, Alissa White, Eglee Zent, Rachelle K. Gould

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Regenerative agriculture refers to a suite of principles, practices, or outcomes which seek to improve soil health, biodiversity, climate, ecosystem function, and socioeconomic outcomes. However, recent reviews highlight wide heterogeneity in how it is defined. This impedes our ability to understand what regenerative agriculture is and has left the movement open to strategic repurposing by diverse stakeholders. Furthermore, the conceptual franchising of the regenerative agriculture debate by Western culture has omitted discussions surrounding social justice, relational values, and the contribution of Indigenous and local knowledge that does not align with Western-centric producer-consumer frameworks. This is a continuation of injustice by …

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Advancing Agroecological Agroforestry: A Vermont Participatory Storytelling And Story Mapping Project, Sydney Blume May 2023

Advancing Agroecological Agroforestry: A Vermont Participatory Storytelling And Story Mapping Project, Sydney Blume

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

Agroforestry is the intentional integration of trees into agricultural landscapes. Advancing agroforestry has the potential to support just food system transition, but it must take direction from traditional approaches (culturally-embedded, millennia-old agroforestry practices in forest ecosystems) and agroecology (the movement, science, and practice for just and sustainable food and agricultural systems). An agroecological approach to agroforestry is essential to avoid agroforestry replicating the logics and harms of industrial agriculture and to encourage learning from traditional agroforestry practices, and likewise, traditional approaches to agroforestry can support a transformative agroecological transition through redesign of agroecosystems and shifting perspectives and ethics. This paper …

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Seed & Story Conservation: A Rooted Historical Documentation And Analysis Of Living Seed Stories In The Us Northeast, Celia Luanna Nesbitt Apr 2023

Seed & Story Conservation: A Rooted Historical Documentation And Analysis Of Living Seed Stories In The Us Northeast, Celia Luanna Nesbitt

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

Often a neglected item in our current industrialized food system, seed is now typically seen as a commodity. Agrobiodiversity is in decline with diverse crop varieties being lost from cultivation and memory, further threatening levels of biodiversity. Research indicates that seed systems are crucial for the conservation of crop diversity and local adaption of cultivars. Globally, people are working to grow and share seeds that support seed production based around the premises of community-based production and (agro)biodiversity. This project and paper draw attention to the regional seed work in the US Northeast. Through a participatory approach, and an active participation …

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The Gardens Nearby: A Narrative Podcast Exploring Soil Contamination And Community Gardening In Burlington, Vt, April Mcilwaine Apr 2023

The Gardens Nearby: A Narrative Podcast Exploring Soil Contamination And Community Gardening In Burlington, Vt, April Mcilwaine

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

The city of Burlington, Vermont (Burlington) is home to the Burlington Area Community Gardens (BACG), a program of the Burlington Parks and Recreation Department. This program has a 50-year legacy in the Burlington community and today comprises 14 garden sites that serve over 1,400 people. Within the framework of food sovereignty, community gardens are valuable, multi-functional spaces that positively benefit residents and neighborhoods alike. However, planting gardens in reclaimed urban spaces may come with food safety concerns. Like other cities that have an industrial heritage, some of Burlington’s urban areas may have soils with high levels of toxic heavy metals …

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Home Food Production Before, During And Since Start Of The Covid-19 Pandemic In Northern New England, Ashleigh Angle, Ashley C. Mccarthy, Meredith T. Niles Apr 2023

Home Food Production Before, During And Since Start Of The Covid-19 Pandemic In Northern New England, Ashleigh Angle, Ashley C. Mccarthy, Meredith T. Niles

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This brief details the results from three separate surveys of Northern New Englanders in Maine and Vermont in summer 2020, spring 2021, and spring 2022. A survey was conducted in summer of 2020 to understand the initial and continued impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security, diet, and health outcomes. Two additional surveys were conducted using the same methods in spring 2021 and 2022 to continue to assess changes during the pandemic. All surveys were representative of the state populations on race and ethnicity and the data presented in this brief were weighted to be representative of income in …

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Proceedings - U.S.A Agroecology Summit 2023, Deborah A. Neher, Colin R. Anderson, Andrea D. Basche, Christine Costello, Mary K. Hendrickson, Bruce D. Maxwell, Antonio M. Roman-Alcalá, Aubrey Streit Krug, William F. Tracy, Ernesto Méndez, Catherine Horner, Janica M. Anderzén Jan 2023

Proceedings - U.S.A Agroecology Summit 2023, Deborah A. Neher, Colin R. Anderson, Andrea D. Basche, Christine Costello, Mary K. Hendrickson, Bruce D. Maxwell, Antonio M. Roman-Alcalá, Aubrey Streit Krug, William F. Tracy, Ernesto Méndez, Catherine Horner, Janica M. Anderzén

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This docket is a memory of the meeting held in Kansas City from May 22-25 called the 2023 USA Agroecology Summit and contains all the documents generated before, during, and after the meeting.

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“No Solamente Del Café Puede Vivir Uno...”: Participatory Action Research On Agricultural Diversification In Smallholder Coffee Systems Of Chiapas, Mexico, Janica Mia-Maaria Anderzén Jan 2023

“No Solamente Del Café Puede Vivir Uno...”: Participatory Action Research On Agricultural Diversification In Smallholder Coffee Systems Of Chiapas, Mexico, Janica Mia-Maaria Anderzén

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Diversity and diversification are foundational principles of agroecology. Growing scientific and experiential evidence from different parts of the world shows that diversified, agroecologically managed agricultural systems generate multiple ecological, social, and economic benefits, and can be more resilient to risks and stressors. However, while ecological benefits of these systems are well documented, less is known about socio-economic dimensions of agricultural diversification. This dissertation explores characteristics and outcomes of agricultural diversification in smallholder coffee systems in Chiapas, Mexico, with special emphasis on beekeeping. In this region, beekeeping is seen as an alternative with potential to build household resilience in the face …

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Examining Gendered Aspects Of Land Tenure Security And Smallholder Food Security During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Uganda, Michelle B. Saunders Jan 2023

Examining Gendered Aspects Of Land Tenure Security And Smallholder Food Security During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Uganda, Michelle B. Saunders

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Smallholder agriculture is an integral part of the global food system – indeed, over 80% of the world’s farms operate on less than two hectares of land. In Uganda, these smallholder farmers grow the majority (~85%) of food produced, and thus are critical to domestic food security. However, due to external threats such as economic hardship and climate change, smallholders are also vulnerable to food insecurity themselves. As we work towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of zero hunger, it is crucial that we pay particular attention to this vital population. This thesis explores two key explanatory factors that …

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Reorienting Local Housing Development Trends Via Land Value Taxation: A Bottom-Up And Top-Down Quantitative Analysis, Dakota B. Walker Jan 2023

Reorienting Local Housing Development Trends Via Land Value Taxation: A Bottom-Up And Top-Down Quantitative Analysis, Dakota B. Walker

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The region surrounding Burlington, Vermont is in the midst of sparse, decentralized growth which threatens the sense of place from which it has thrived. Many have argued that such development tendencies result from a disconnect between land use incentives at the individual level and the fruits of compact settlement, which materialize at larger scales. Two overarching problems are understood to contribute to this disconnect; the ability to privately appropriate the collectively-created value of land, and the inability to recognize ecological opportunity costs of natural land conversion in land use decisions. One proposed solution is the Land Value Tax (LVT). By …

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