Episode Details

Michaela Hoffelmeyer is an Assistant Professor of Public Engagement in Agriculture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying how various groups access agricultural resources and how structural inequalities influence food production and environmental sustainability. She discusses how the term "family farm" only tells us about the relationship between farm owners, and nothing about farm size, scale, or practices like workplace conditions and environmental impact. The heteronormative nuclear family ideal of a family farm erases various types of farm labor, such as migrant workers, LGBTQ farmers, and the role of women, and further leads to discriminatory practices at the USDA. Hoffelmeyer also explores some alternative narratives and approaches to farming that might better serve equitable access and food security.