Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

Motivating Factors For Young Adults In The Brattleboro Area To Start In Organic Agriculture For Their Career, Tomokazu Utsugi

Capstone Collection

Despite a worldwide push for the conversion of conventional agriculture to organic agriculture, organic farming itself is not a very popular vocational choice for young people. Brattleboro, one of the towns in Vermont, is no exception. Although several local organizations are promoting local agriculture and food security, in reality, not many young people in Brattleboro want to choose organic agriculture as their career.

With a total of 17 in-depth qualitative interviews with young adults in the Brattleboro area, this inquiry sought to identify a range of factors that would motivate them to choose organic agriculture as their career. The results …

Land Is Life: A Policy Advocacy Case Study Of The Northern Thailand Land Reform Movement, Jason Lubanski

Capstone Collection

This case study provides an in-depth examination of the work of the Thailand Northern Land Reform Movement using the framework of Jeff Unsicker's "Policy Advocacy Circles". Due to increasing population pressures, the liberalization of land markets, and agribusiness pressures, Thailand has experienced an increase in land ownership inequality and a growing number of landless and nearly landless small-scale farmers. In order to address this situation, agricultural communities have joined together at local and national levels to fight for the legislation of land reform policies, including Community Land Titles, progressive land taxes, and a National Land Bank to assist with land …

The Meeting School: An Alternative Mode Of Education, Hallel Parsons

Capstone Collection

What role do spirituality, community, and farming play in contemporary US education? As a farm and faculty intern at a small, private, Quaker boarding high school in rural NH I gained an interesting perspective on this subject. Using Robert G. Hanvey’s working thesis: An Attainable Global Perspective: Education for a Global Perspective as a standard by which to measure my experience at The Meeting School, I explore the implications of an education founded upon the Quaker values of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, and equality (SPICE), within the context of an intentional community committed to organic farming as a means to …

A Framework For Monitoring Local And Regional Food Systems, Heather Victoria Davis

Capstone Collection

The US food system has been experiencing gradual, yet significant, changes in recent years - with many people recognizing that conventional approaches are not only unsustainable, but also detrimental. As an alternative paradigm, the development of local food systems has been flourishing because of the benefits they bring to us: more local control over our food; supporting the local economy and entrepreneurs; healthier food options; fewer “food miles” and the related benefits of lowered use of petroleum; stronger community bonds; job creation for our rural communities; more gentle on the environment; and a more secure food system overall. Monitoring the …

The Campaign For Bias-Free Policing In Vermont: One State’S Resistance To The Localization Of Federal Immigration Agency, Amanda L. Park

Capstone Collection

There are roughly 1,500 immigrants from Mexico and Central America currently working on farms in Vermont, helping to sustain approximately half of all milk produced in the state. But the lack of adequate visa-to-work options leaves these individuals without proper documentation to be in the US. As such, they are vulnerable to exploitation by their employers, susceptible to harassment from the communities in which they live, and under constant threat of deportation by federal immigration agents. Now, the US Department of Homeland Security—in charge of domestic defense and immigration—is attempting to use local and state law enforcement officers in the …