"It connects me to the Earth": Marginalized Environmentalism, Ecological Embeddedness and a Resistance to Capitalist Logic

The current research has found that subsistence food producers (SFPs) are practicing innovative pro-environmental behaviors despite not holding very strong environmental identities. Some of these practices include: composting,... [ view full abstract ]

The current research has found that subsistence food producers (SFPs) are practicing innovative pro-environmental behaviors despite not holding very strong environmental identities. Some of these practices include: composting, water saving/reduction, food localization, closed-loop nutrient cycling, soil remediation, and promoting biological diversity. This finding can be explained through the theoretical lens of ecological embeddedness, or closing the metabolic rift. Being close to the source of their food by self-producing, SFPs are directly confronted with the natural environment from which they produce food, mimicking small-scale rural peasant agriculture practiced around the world. This finding is significant because environmental sociologists have had a bias toward urban environmentalists for emergent solutions to environmental problems. Yet, the data suggest that those seeking to study human-environment interaction should look at those on the margins of the environmental movement for ecological innovation. In other words, it’s the hunters and fishermen, backyard gardeners, and urban chicken keepers that may be at the forefront of pro-environmental innovation, and the implication is that we must begin to look at these populations that are marginalized by environmental sociologists in order to learn about exciting directions in environmental research.