Farm Forward: A Pragmatist Approach to Advocacy in Agriculture

Abstract

In this chapter, I examine the philosophical and ethical views undergirding Farm Forward, a nonprofit animal advocacy group focused on reforming agricultural practices and ending factory farming. Specifically, I frame Farm Forward as an organization that embodies key dimensions of the pragmatist philosophical tradition. I begin by providing a brief overview of existing pragmatist work within animal ethics and describing the pragmatist concepts of pluralism, particularism, and amelioration. After placing Farm Forward’s general vision for agricultural reform within this philosophical context, I review a number of the organization’s recent projects to illustrate their commitment to the above pragmatist principles, as well as the progress that they have attained through particular advocacy strategies including education initiatives, public engagement, negotiations with multinational corporations, and building coalitions with other advocacy groups. Farm Forward’s pragmatist approach to advocacy in agriculture, I argue, serves as an exemplary model for achieving positive change in concrete and inclusive ways.