| Chapter 1: | ADM, A Tomato Named Local Lucy, and Small Farms: The Ecology and Reemergence of Farmers’ Markets |
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Apropos of the topic of this book, more than 100 years after Tylor’s comment, Lang (1999) declared that there is a need for reformers—including academics, consumer groups, and environmentalists—to build an integrated understanding of food as a system, and to refine and help organize alliances. This process of reform relies in part on applying methods and theory from anthropology and other social sciences to improve conditions for farmers and communities and to influence policy.
Applying anthropology is a problem- and outcome-oriented approach to research. Kottak (1998) observed, “I see applied anthropology…as the use of…data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify, assess, and solve social problems” (p. 754). Although applied research should be guided by, and often contributes to, progress in theoretical fields, it must be tempered with a clear view of conducting projects with outcomes that improve conditions for people. This requires examination of and reporting on issues that are of crucial value to, and even generated by, a group in need or distress. Increasingly, applied research is conducted by partnerships of social scientists and members of communities, and highlights the need for collaboration and co-learning between researchers and participants (Trotter & Schensul, 1998).
Applied anthropology should not only lead to solutions for groups of people at both the policy and localized levels, it should also be presented in a manner that can be understood by professionals and practitioners representing many disciplines and issues, as well as by people confronted with problems addressed by the research. The need for unambiguous communication of research findings cannot be overly stressed. Allison Brown (2002), a horticulturist with research interests in farmers’ markets, published a review of 60 years of research literature related to farmers’ markets. She pointed out that while farmers and farmers’ market managers are eager for answers to their problems, there is a fundamental deficiency in some social science research on farmers’ markets: