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Geography and religion, agriculture and stewardship: the practice of agricultural stewardship in the Christian Farmers Federations of Canada

University of British Columbia

A Christian reformational perspective is introduced and adopted. A critique of modernist, industrialising agriculture is constructed, drawing partly on the work of contemporary agrarian writers. The notion of a regenerative agriculture is advocated. The two ways in which stewardship has been used as an environmental ethic is reviewed: as resource development and conservation, and earthkeeping. The earthkeeping definition is used to formulate the normative concept of agricultural stewardship. The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario (CFFO) was established by Dutch neo-Calvinist immigrants in the early 1950s, the Christian Farmers Federation of Alberta (CFFA) by the same community in the early 1970s. The history of these two small general farmers' organisations is detailed against the backdrop of separate Christian organisations in the Netherlands and North America. Direct links are traced back to the Christelijke Boeren- en Tuindersbond (CBTB), the Christian Farmers and Gardeners Union, established in the Netherlands in 1918. CFFO and CFFA (which changed its name to Earthkeeping in 1992) are presented as institutions reflecting a "transformational" approach to Christian social action, existing within the mainstream of modern society and agriculture, seeking to transform them. The role of stewardship and the significance of the family farm in the policies of the two Federations are analysed, along with their efforts to protect agricultural land from urban and industrial encroachment. Both Federations have become leading farmers' organisations in environmental issues. An analysis of semi-structured in-depth interviews with CFFA members and non-members in two areas of central Alberta in 1986 shows the significance of stewardship in the beliefs and farming practices of CFFA members. An ecological stewardship index is constructed to explore the use of land management practices. In general, the CFFA members interviewed were using practices that were more environmentally responsible than their neighbours, although there were differences between the two locales studied. It is concluded that the mode of institutional organisation of the two Federations has enabled their members to have more influence, to articulate their views more clearly, and to promote agricultural stewardship more widely.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-07-02

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/9919

Geography

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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