Skip to main content

Plastic scraps: biodegradable mulch films and the aesthetics of ‘good farming’ in US specialty crop production

Agriculture and Human Values volume 37, pages 83–96 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Agriculture is a serious contributor to pollution and other environmental harms, making it an important site of action for the development of environmentally friendly products and practices. However, farmer adoption of such options is varied and dependent on a wide range of factors including the visual appeal (i.e., aesthetics) of sustainable farming. Recent studies have shown that negative aesthetics related to more environmentally friendly ways of farming can delay or prevent adoption of such practices. Drawing on the concepts of good farming, cultural capital, and the aesthetics of waste, this paper aims to assess the status of biodegradable plastic mulch (BDM) in relation to a range of alternative and conventional specialty crop growers’ aesthetic perceptions. BDM has the potential to significantly reduce non-biodegradable polyethylene (PE) mulch waste, thus addressing serious environmental and human health concerns. However, the aesthetics of BDM may present a challenge. BDM looks identical to PE plastic, and its degradation throughout the season results in scraps in the soil. To investigate aesthetics as a possible barrier to BDM adoption, we conducted five photo-elicitation focus groups with specialty crop growers in Washington State. Results indicate that alternative growers are slightly more adverse to the aesthetics of BDM, especially because of its ‘plastic’ appearance. Conventional growers had higher rates of BDM adoption, even though they felt a strong aesthetic aversion to the messy nature of BDM degradation. Confidence in the product, particularly as a result of education and experience, was believed to be the key to overcoming this negative aesthetic. Study participants offered a variety of ways to enhance the acceptability of BDM, such as making the mulch brown instead of black. These findings have wider implications for the acceptance and adoption of practices that, although environmentally friendly, have an unattractive visual element.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Abbreviations

BDM:

Biodegradable plastic mulch

PE:

Polyethylene

OMRI:

Organic Materials Review Board

ASTM International:

American Society for Testing and Materials International

References

  • Arribas Herguedas, F. 2018. Are poplar plantations really beautiful? On Allen Carlson’s aesthetics of agricultural landscapes and environmentalism. Environmental Values 27 (2): 159–178.

    Google Scholar 

  • ASTM International. 2012. Standard test method for determining aerobic biodegradation of plastic materials in soil (Standard No. D5988-12). ASTM Compass. https://www.astm.org/Standards/D5988.htm Accessed 1 May 2019.

  • Beilin, R. 2005. Photo-elicitation and the agricultural landscape: ‘seeing’ and ‘telling’ about farming, community and place. Visual Studies 20 (1): 56–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P. 1984. Distinction: A social critique of the judgment of taste (trans: Nice, R.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

  • Bourdieu, P. 1986. The forms of capital. In Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education, ed. J. Richardson, 241–258. New York, NY: Greenwood. http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/fr/bourdieu-forms-capital.htm.

  • Burton, R.J.F. 2004. Seeing through the ‘good farmer’s’ eyes: Towards developing an understanding of the social symbolic value of ‘productivist’ behaviour. Sociologia Ruralis 44 (2): 195–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burton, R.J.F. 2012. Understanding farmers’ aesthetic preference for tidy agricultural landscapes: A Bourdieusian perspective. Landscape Research 37 (1): 51–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burton, R.J.F., C. Kuczera, and G. Schwarz. 2008. Exploring farmers’ cultural resistance to voluntary agri-environmental schemes. Sociologia Ruralis 48 (1): 16–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burton, R.J.F., and U.H. Paragahawewa. 2011. Creating culturally sustainable agri-environmental schemes. Journal of Rural Studies 27 (1): 95–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Canter, L.W. 2018. Environmental impact of agricultural production activities. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, A. 1976. Environmental aesthetics and the dilemma of aesthetic education. The Journal of Aesthetic Education 10 (2): 69–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark-Ibáñez, M. 2004. Framing the social world with photo-elicitation interviews. American Behavioral Scientist 47 (12): 1507–1527.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collier, J. 1957. Photography in anthropology: A report on two experiments. American Anthropologist 59 (5): 843–859.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collier, J., and M. Collier. 1986. Visual anthropology: Photography as a research method. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Colucci, E. 2007. “Focus groups can be fun”: The use of activity-oriented questions in focus group discussions. Qualitative Health Research 17 (10): 1422–1433.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conway, S.F., J. McDonagh, M. Farrell, and A. Kinsella. 2016. Cease agricultural activity forever? Underestimating the importance of symbolic capital. Journal of Rural Studies 44: 164–176.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corbin, A., J. Cowan, D. Hayes, J. Dorgan, D. Inglis, and C.A. Miles. 2013. Using biodegradable plastics as agricultural mulches. Washington State University Extension. http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/FS103E/FS103E.pdf. Accessed 30 Dec 2018.

  • Cowan, J.S. and C.A. Miles. 2018. Impact of biodegradable mulch on specialty crop production. Washington State University Extension Fact Sheet EXT-2018-02. https://ag.tennessee.edu/biodegradablemulch/Documents/BDM%20for%20crops-research%20summary.pdf. Accessed 30 Dec 2018.

  • Crabtree, P. 2011. Does eco-friendly clothing mean eeeek-o ugly? The San Diego Union-Tribune. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-Eco-friendly-clothing-mean-2011may06-story.html. Accessed 1 May 2019.

  • Engelking, C. 2015. Eco-friendly startup sells ugly fruits and veggies. Discover. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2015/08/19/start-up-sells-ugly-fruits-veggies/. Accessed 1 May 2019.

  • Gandy, M. 2013. Marginalia: Aesthetics, ecology, and urban wastelands. Annals of the Association of American Geography 103 (6): 1301–1316.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gohd, C. 2017. China is officially enacting a plastic waste import ban. Futurism. https://futurism.com/china-is-enacting-a-plastic-waste-import-ban. Accessed 1 May 2019.

  • Goldberger, J.R., R.E. Jones, C.A. Miles, R.W. Wallace, and D.A. Inglis. 2015. Barriers and bridges to the adoption of biodegradable plastic mulches for US specialty crop production. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 30 (2): 143–153.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gotschi, E., R. Delve, and B. Freyer. 2009. Participatory photography as a qualitative approach to obtain insights into farmer groups. Field Methods 21 (3): 290–308.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grenfell, M.J. (ed.). 2014. Pierre Bourdieu: key concepts, 2nd ed. Abingdon-on-Thames, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, E. 2015. How can agriculture solve its $5.87 billion plastic problem? GreenBiz. https://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-can-agriculture-solve-its-1-billion-plastic-problem. Accessed 30 Dec 2018.

  • Haggerty, J., H. Campbell, and C. Morris. 2009. Keeping the stress off the sheep? Agricultural intensification, neoliberalism, and ‘good’ farming in New Zealand. Geoforum 40 (5): 767–777.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harper, D. 2002. Talking about pictures: A case for photo elicitation. Visual Studies 17 (1): 13–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harper, D. 2003. Framing photographic ethnography: A case study. Ethnography 4 (2): 241–266.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, D.G., S. Dharmalingam, L.C. Wadsworth, K.K. Leonas, C. Miles, and D.A. Inglis. 2012. Biodegradable agricultural mulches derived from biopolymers. In Degradable polymers and materials: Principles and practice, 2nd ed., 201–223. American Chemical Society. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bk-2012-1114.ch013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, D.G. and M. Flury. 2018. A summary and assessment of EN 17033:2018, a new https://ag.tennessee.edu/biodegradablemulch/Documents/EU%20regs%20factsheet.pdf. Accessed 1 May 2019.

  • Hettinger, N. 1991. Allen Carlson’s environmental aesthetics and the protection of the environment. Environmental Ethics 21: 32–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horrigan, L., R.S. Lawrence, and P. Walker. 2002. How sustainable agriculture can address the environmental and human health harms of industrial agriculture. Environmental Health Perspectives 110 (5): 445.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hosey, L. 2013. A case for why green design must be beautiful. Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/1672322/for-green-design-to-have-a-chance-it-should-be-beautiful. Accessed 1 May 2019.

  • Hunt, L. 2010. Interpreting orchardists’ talk about their orchards: The good orchardists. Agriculture and Human Values 27 (4): 415–426.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huttunen, S., and K. Soini. 2018. Cultivating cultural sustainability in farming practices. In Cultural sustainability and the nature-culture interface, ed. I. Birkeland, R. Burton, C. Parra, and K. Siivonen, 35–48. Abingdon-on-Thames, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2015. Fifth assessment report-climate change synthesis report. https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/syr/SYR_AR5_FINAL_full.pdf.

  • Iverson Nassauer, J. 1997. Chapter 4: Cultural sustainability: Aligning aesthetics and ecology. In Placing nature: Culture and landscape ecology, ed. J. Iverson Nassauer, 67–83. Covelo, CA: Island Press.

  • Kader, M.A., M. Senge, M.A. Mojid, and K. Ito. 2017. Recent advances in mulching materials and methods for modifying soil environment. Soil and Tillage Research 168: 155–166.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasirajan, S., and M. Ngouajio. 2012. Polyethylene and biodegradable mulches for agricultural applications: A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 32 (2): 501–529.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knowler, D., and B. Bradshaw. 2007. Farmers’ adoption of conservation agriculture: A review and synthesis of recent research. Food Policy 32 (1): 25–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lapenta, F. 2011. Some theoretical and methodological views on photo-elicitation. In The Sage handbook of visual research methods, ed. E. Margolis and L. Pauwels, 201–213. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leddy, T. 2008. The aesthetics of junkyards and roadside clutter. Contemporary Aesthetics 6 (1): 11–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malinconico, M. (ed.). 2017. Soil degradable bioplastics for a sustainable modern agriculture. Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayring, P. 2014. Qualitative content analysis: theoretical foundation, basic procedures and software solution. Klagenfurt. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-395173.

  • Miles, C., S. Ghimire, M. Peyron, and D.G. Hayes. 2015. Biodegradeable mulches and their suitability for organic agriculture. BC Organic Growers 18 (4): 28–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miles, C., R. Wallace, A. Wszelaki, J. Martin, J. Cowan, T. Walters, and D. Inglis. 2012. Deterioration of potentially biodegradable alternatives to black plastic mulch in three tomato production regions. HortScience 47 (9): 1270–1277.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, J. and A. Wszelaki. 2016. Plastic mulch in fruit and vegetable production: Challenges for disposal. Washington State University Extension Fact Sheet FA-2016-02. https://ag.tennessee.edu/biodegradablemulch/Documents/Plastic_Mulch_in_Fruit_and_Vegetable_Production_12_20factsheet.pdf. Accessed 30 Dec 2018.

  • Ngouajio, M., R. Auras, R.T. Fernandez, M. Rubino, J.W. Counts, and T. Kijchavengkul. 2008. Field performance of aliphatic-aromatic copolyester biodegradable mulch films in a fresh market tomato production system. HortTechnology 18 (4): 605–610.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliffe, J.L., and J.L. Bottorff. 2017. Further than the eye can see photo elicitation and research with men. Qualitative Health Research 17 (6): 850–858.

    Google Scholar 

  • OMRI [Organic Materials Review Institute]. 2015. Report on biodegradable biobased mulches. Prepared for the USDA National Organic Program.

  • Phillips, C. 2016. Alternative food distribution and plastic devices: Performances, valuations, and experimentations. Journal of Rural Studies 44: 208–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rangarajan, A., and B. Leonard. 2007. Biodegradable mulches: How well do they work. Ithaca, NY: Department of Horticulture, Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riley, M. 2016. How does longer term participation in agri-environmental schemes [re]shape farmers’ environmental dispositions and identities? Land Use Policy 52: 62–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riley, M., H. Sangster, H. Smith, R. Chiverrell, and J. Boyle. 2018. Will farmers work together for conservation? The potential limits of farmers’ cooperation in agri-environment measures. Land Use Policy 70: 635–646.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saunders, F.P. 2015. Complex shades of green: gradually changing notions of the ‘good farmer’ in Swedish context. Sociologia Ruralis 56 (3): 391–407.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, F., T. Ledermann, P. Fry, and S. Rist. 2010. Soil conservation in Swiss agriculture—Approaching abstract and symbolic meanings on farmers’ life-worlds. Land Use Policy 27: 332–339.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schonbeck, M. 2012. Synthetic mulching materials for weed management. Extension. https://articles.extension.org/pages/65191/synthetic-mulching-materials-for-weed-management. Accessed 30 Dec 2018.

  • Schwartz, D. 1989. Visual ethnography: Using photography in qualitative research. Qualitative Sociology 12 (2): 119–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shogren, R.L. 2000. Biodegradable mulches from renewable resources. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture 16 (4): 33–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sintim, H.Y. 2018. Biodegradable plastic mulch: Degradation and impacts on soil health. PhD dissertation. Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. Pullman, WA: Washington State University.

  • Sorkin, L. 2006. New biodegradable mulch is cheaper than plastic when removal and disposal costs are also considered. Growing for Market.

  • Stock, P.V. 2007. ‘Good farmers’ as reflexive producers: An examination of family organic farmers in the US Midwest. Sociologia Ruralis 47 (2): 83–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland, L. 2013. Can organic farmers be ‘good farmers’? Adding the ‘taste of necessity’ to the conventionalization debate. Agriculture and Human Values 30: 429–441.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland, L., and R.J.F. Burton. 2011. Good farmers, good neighbours? The role of cultural capital in social capital development in a Scottish farming community. Sociologia Ruralis 51 (3): 238–255.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vos, T. 2000. Visions of the middle landscape: Organic farming and the politics of nature. Agriculture and Human Values 17 (3): 245–256.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber, C.A. 2003. Biodegradable mulch films for weed suppression in the establishment year of matted-row strawberries. HortTechnology 13 (4): 665–668.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by USDA-NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative award #2014-51181-22383 on ‘Performance and Adoptability of Biodegradable Plastic Mulch for Sustainable Specialty Crop Production’. The authors gratefully acknowledge Chris Benedict and Jeremy Cowan for their role in organizing the focus groups. Additionally, we acknowledge the invaluable contributions of our focus group participants.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, 125 Integrated Research and Innovation Center, University of Idaho, 857 Perimeter Drive, MS 1122, Moscow, ID, 83844-1122, USA

    Katherine Dentzman

  2. Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, 263 Johnson Hall, Pullman, WA, 99164-6420, USA

    Jessica R. Goldberger

Authors
  1. Katherine Dentzman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jessica R. Goldberger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katherine Dentzman.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dentzman, K., Goldberger, J.R. Plastic scraps: biodegradable mulch films and the aesthetics of ‘good farming’ in US specialty crop production. Agric Hum Values 37, 83–96 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-019-09970-x

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-019-09970-x

Keywords

  • Good farming
  • Aesthetics
  • Capital
  • Sustainable farming
  • Plasticulture
  • Photo elicitation
  • Waste