To date, researchers interested in alternative food networks have often overlooked the somewhat hidden, unorganized
population of household food producers. Subsistence Agriculture in the US fills this gap in the
existing literature by examining the lived experiences of people taking part in subsistence food production. Over the course of the book, Colby draws on accounts from a broad and diverse network of people who are hunting, fishing, gardening, keeping livestock and gathering and looks in depth at the way in which these practical actions have transformed their relationship to labor and land. She also explores the broader implications of this pro-environmental activity for social change and sustainable futures. With a combination of rigorous academic investigation and engagement with pressing social issues, this book will be of great interest to scholars of sustainable consumption, environmental sociology and social movements.
Ashley Colby, PhD is interested in the myriad creative ways in which people are innovating in face of the failures of late capitalism and ecological disaster. She is based in Uruguay, where she has recently founded Rizoma Field School for experiential learning in sustainability.
This research is published as a part of the SCORAI Routledge book series:
https://www.routledge.com/Subsistence-Agriculture-in-the-US-Reconnecting-to-Work-Nature-and-Community/Colby/p/book/9780367458720 (September 2020)