Abstract
This paper is an evaluation of the sociological significance of the development and adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. The concept of “appropriationism” is introduced as a means of determining whether or not sustainable agriculture is an expression of class antagonisms in U. S. agriculture. “Appropriationism” is the process by which corporate agribusiness replaces natural processes with industrial products. A comparison of responses to farm crisis in the late 19th century and in the 1980s is employed as a heuristic device to determine the contemporary sociological significance of sustainable agriculture. Based on past experience and changes in key institutions over the past century, it is concluded that the development of sustainable agricultural practices will not significantly challenge the economic prerogatives of agribusiness and that the long-term process of the industrial appropriation of natural processes in agriculture will continue into the 21st century.
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Max Pfeffer is a sociologist at Rutgers University. His research and teaching interests span several areas, including agriculture and the environment, rural labor markets, rural to urban and international migration, and farmland preservation. Much of his recent writing and field work deals with different dimensions of social relations in rural/urban fringe areas.
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Pfeffer, M.J. Sustainable agriculture in historical perspective. Agric Hum Values 9, 4–11 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02217960
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02217960