Voss Fellow Veronica Clarkson (Class of 2012: A.B., Environmental Studies & Economics) published an opinion piece in The Brown Daily Herald on the opportunities to support local agriculture through the Farm Bill.
Working with Prof. Kathy DeMaster, Clarkson has investigated how small-scale agriculture can contribute to ecologically and economically resilient working landscapes.
“Shifting the focus of some of our agriculture subsidies away from mass production to reintegrate small-scale production would demonstrate our country’s commitment to preserving rural livelihoods and environmental protection. The three-pronged or “triple-bottom-line” set of objectives for the Farm Bill that I propose — quality of economy, society and environment — are currently being addressed by small-scale producers. Research like ours is starting to document the factors that help create these triple-bottom-line outcomes. Our work suggests that comparable concentrations of small-scale production could be replicated throughout the country with a modest amount of direct state and government support to groups of producers who demonstrate the potential to produce high quality products on smaller scales.”
- Veronica Clarkson