Imagination and Practices of ‘Friendly’ Small Farmers in Taiwan

Title：Life Imagination and Life Practices of ‘Friendly’ Small Farmers in Taiwan: A Comparative Study on Cases in Meinong, Tamsui and Yilan ( 台湾“友善”小农的生活想象与生活实践──基于美浓、淡水、宜兰三地个案的比较研究 )

Author:

WU Weiyun ( 邬维芸 ) 

Master 2017 Thesis

Abstract: 

The anxiety of Taiwanese society spread after the 2008 financial crisis and intensified in a series of food safety problems that broke out in 2011. In response,‘friendly’ small farmers practice new life imagination in a farming way and try to provide a solution to the social and environmental problems of the current capitalist development.

This paper introduces and analyzes the different options of‘friendly’ small farmers , and compares their differences in life imagination, life practice and values. And on the basis of this, this paper evaluates the status of ‘friendly’ small farmers in Taiwan. Although‘friendly’ small farmers can not overcome the limitations of the financial capital environment, small farmers are using their own way to respond to the impact from the environment. The practices of small farmers, point out the problems of existing capitalist  social pattern, reflect on the negative side of industrial way of farming and stand against the destruction of natural environment.‘Friendly’ small farmers of Taiwan aim to develop an alternative way of farming and living.