Labour futures for farmworkers amidst climate change
My postdoctoral work will interrogate the future of agricultural work in Western Canada in the context of climate change, from the perspective of farmworkers.
What do farmworkers in Western Canada see as “good work” amidst the threats of extreme weather caused by climate change, and how do they see technology and on-farm practices as part of a climate-friendly farming future? This project is funded by a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship, and will be under the supervision of Dr. Anelyse Weiler at the University of Victoria.
Just in principle? Assessing the contributions of organic farming to socio-ecological sustainability in Canadian agriculture
Organic farming has been proposed as a solution to many food-related sustainability challenges, including ecological degradation and wellbeing for eaters, farmers and farmworkers alike. However, previous research has cast doubt on the assumption that organic agriculture is necessarily more sustainable or fair.
My doctoral work utilized a mixed-methods to evaluate the contributions of organic agriculture to socioecological sustainability in Canada by looking at the practices used on organic farms, the standards and regulations that govern organic certified agriculture, and efforts by the organic community to make improvements to the organic sector.
Migrant labour in organic agriculture
Organic agriculture has been shown to be more labour-intensive than the rest of agriculture, and organic certification does not guarantee better conditions for workers. Migrant workers experience some of the worst conditions of work in Canada due to their precarious and unfree status. Yet, little is known about the extent of migrant labour in organic agriculture in Canada.
This project explores migrant agricultural work in the organic sector, and efforts by organic community members to address (un)fairness of labour relations in the sector.