Rachel Berndtson from the Department of Geographical Sciences at UMd will present her work “Sustainable agriculture in the Jewish community: a Baltimore, Maryland case study” to the Workshop for Society and the Environment on Wednesday, November 20 at 10:30 in 1101 Art-Sociology.
ABSTRACT
Farming Jews are often associated with biblical figures or Israeli kibbutzim, but American Jews are challenging those connotations by engaging in small-scale, sustainable agriculture in the United States. The Jewish farming movement (JFM) is an educational phenomenon that frames social and ecological issues surrounding agriculture through a Jewish lens, and traditional Jewish practice through an environmental lens. The movement began in 2003 and operates through educational farms and community gardens, in rural and urban locations. The farms and gardens are largely supported by preexisting and well-established Jewish institutions, including Jewish federations, synagogues, and philanthropies. I use a grounded theory method to account for the creation, diffusion, and influence of the Jewish farming movement as it transpires through several sites in Baltimore County and Baltimore City, Maryland. The research resulted in the development of a substantive level theory that understands the JFM in Baltimore as a socially produced space. I elaborate on social processes produced from the new space, including impacts to participants' Jewish identities and pro-environmental lifestyles. Impacts to each area vary based on participant characteristics, including Jewish denomination, socioeconomic status, and whether participants are local or nonlocal.
ABSTRACT
Farming Jews are often associated with biblical figures or Israeli kibbutzim, but American Jews are challenging those connotations by engaging in small-scale, sustainable agriculture in the United States. The Jewish farming movement (JFM) is an educational phenomenon that frames social and ecological issues surrounding agriculture through a Jewish lens, and traditional Jewish practice through an environmental lens. The movement began in 2003 and operates through educational farms and community gardens, in rural and urban locations. The farms and gardens are largely supported by preexisting and well-established Jewish institutions, including Jewish federations, synagogues, and philanthropies. I use a grounded theory method to account for the creation, diffusion, and influence of the Jewish farming movement as it transpires through several sites in Baltimore County and Baltimore City, Maryland. The research resulted in the development of a substantive level theory that understands the JFM in Baltimore as a socially produced space. I elaborate on social processes produced from the new space, including impacts to participants' Jewish identities and pro-environmental lifestyles. Impacts to each area vary based on participant characteristics, including Jewish denomination, socioeconomic status, and whether participants are local or nonlocal.
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