Ethnographic movement methods

Anthropology Takes on the Pesticide Industry

Bibliographic Data

ID4755271
AuthorsDvera I Saxton (California State University, Fresno, corresponding author), Dvera Saxton
Year2015
Volume22
Issue1
Publication date2015-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Political Ecology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1073-0451 • E-ISSN: 1073-0451
PublisherUniversity of Arizona (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2458/v22i1.21114
OpenAlexW2775433599
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited32

In this article, I describe how the methods of anthropology proved productive and fruitful for research and environmental justice (EJ) activism against methyl iodide, a highly toxic soil fumigant pesticide used to sterilize soil before food crops like strawberries are transplanted. I continue a thread of discussion around what roles anthropology, and especially, public and applied anthropology, should play in addressing the serious problems traditionally encountered, documented, analyzed, and theorized through ethnographic research. Anthropological engagement and action on methyl iodide and other soil fumigants produced unique research opportunities and networks up and down the agricultural hierarchy, as well as spaces to contribute ethnographic labor and critical analysis and reflection to the EJ movement. While this activist approach— what I refer to as 'ethnographic movement methods'—presented some challenges, the victorious end-result of having methyl iodide's manufacturer pull their product from the U.S. market in 2012 also demonstrated how anthropologists, in cooperation with communities confronted by environmental suffering, can work cooperatively towards alternative agricultural and ecological futures

Agriculture · Archaeology · Ethnography · Geography · Sociology · Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development · Anthropology · Organic Food and Agriculture · Urban Agriculture and Sustainability

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Open DOISci-HubOpen Access