Bernadette White, PhD

Using a survey of dairy farmers in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Florida, this study examines labor patterns on U.S. dairy farms by analyzing employment of nonfamily and immigrant labor, as well as labor precarity and contingency. We build upon and connect two divergent theoretical frames: first, the contradictory class location of family farmers, and second, the neoliberal rise of precarious and contingent labor. We move beyond the family/nonfamily farm binary often found in examinations of the… Show more

Using a survey of dairy farmers in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Florida, this study examines labor patterns on U.S. dairy farms by analyzing employment of nonfamily and immigrant labor, as well as labor precarity and contingency. We build upon and connect two divergent theoretical frames: first, the contradictory class location of family farmers, and second, the neoliberal rise of precarious and contingent labor. We move beyond the family/nonfamily farm binary often found in examinations of the class location of family farmers, including the interplay of family and nonfamily labor, demonstrating that farm size is an equally important component of labor relations to farm ownership structure. Farms’ labor relations more accurately exist on a continuum between “family” and “industrial” that reflects both ownership structure and farm size. Extending the study of precarious and contingent labor into the agricultural sector, we suggest that high rates of overtime work may be a unique form of labor precarity in agriculture, not just part-time work. Scholars must acknowledge that labor precarity and contingency may take different forms across diverse sectors. Show less

In recent years, Ecological Modernization has been shaped by criticisms about the lack of applicability to developing country contexts; in short, Ecological Modernization has been seen only as a process that occurs in industrialized nations. However, more recent scholarship has looked at how deliberative processes on environmental issues also take place in developing countries, most notably the work of David Sonnenfeld on pulp factories in Southeast Asia. This paper seeks to highlight… Show more

In recent years, Ecological Modernization has been shaped by criticisms about the lack of applicability to developing country contexts; in short, Ecological Modernization has been seen only as a process that occurs in industrialized nations. However, more recent scholarship has looked at how deliberative processes on environmental issues also take place in developing countries, most notably the work of David Sonnenfeld on pulp factories in Southeast Asia. This paper seeks to highlight deliberative democratic practices in environmental debates, but also how these discussions can be spurred from the grassroots level, through the utilization of institutional reforms. The introduction of the Right to Information Act (RTI) in India in 2005, stemming from activism and protests to implement such legislation, has served as a means for social activists to gain entry into discussions about policy issues and government accountability. Among the various issues that activists have utilized the RTI for are environmental issues, playing a role in monitoring government policy formulation and implementation. This process can be called an “opening of democracy” and is characterized by the development of more inclusive processes of deliberation, which have allowed multiple parties to have a stake in environmental issues in India. Show less