Who Gets to Farm?
Reshaping Just Transitions in(Agri)culture

Forthcoming book chapter in Postcarbon futures: Imagining (and enacting) new worlds through transition studies edited by Dr. Anna Willow and Dr. Bürge Abiral​. I explore the application of Just Transition (JT) frameworks within animal agriculture, arguing that applying JT to agriculture not only highlights the necessity of expansive theories of justice within JT itself but also enriches our understanding of agricultural issues through JT's focus on labor exploitation and environmental degradation. Drawing on extensive qualitative fieldwork in the Upper Midwest USA, including ethnographic research and participatory action methods, this chapter examines how farmers, workers, and communities navigate shifts in (agri)culture through agroecological and grazing practices. At the heart of these efforts, participants are challenging hierarchies that shape human and non-human lives, reshaping labor and environmental relations, and revaluing farm and food work. Drawing on agroecology, food movements, and labor studies, this chapter situates agriculture as a vital space for rethinking the cultural values that underpin narratives shaping who gets to be a “farmer” and what counts as “agriculture.”