Carrots and sticks: governance, standards, and regulation at Oregon farmers markets

Keywords: farmers market, authenticity, local, food systems, oregon, governance
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Sunday
Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 09:40 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 11:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 18

Abstract

Due to their highly public nature, farmers markets have been framed as “keystone institutions” for building robust local food systems. However, little scholarly attention has been paid to how farmers markets utilize standards and regulations to define and position themselves. This oversight is significant because standards and regulations are not merely neutral technical devices; rather, they entail moral, ethical, and political dimensions. By delimiting the parameters for acceptable items, people, and production practices, they also serve to codify marketplace inclusions and exclusions. By and large, farmers markets in the United States set their own regulations for what is and is not considered appropriate for sale at a given market. This includes dictating not only the geographic providence and modes of production that are acceptable, but also more nebulous attributes such as quality and authenticity. Drawing upon a novel dataset of farmers market regulatory documents, this paper highlights the ways that farmers markets standards and regulations are used as a mechanism for codifying marketplace values.