Events

CHAIRPERSON

Dr Connor Graham, Asia Research Institute, and Tembusu College, National University of Singapore

ABSTRACT

This presentation draws on a qualitative study of cheesemakers in an area of the United States known for small-scale cheesemaking – Maine. Artisan cheesemaking in the US is growing rapidly in several regions, and is seen as an important way to rebuild rural agricultural communities, revitalize flagging dairy farms, model a positive impact on the environment, keep land open for farms, and support the growing number of consumers who want to eat fresh, local, tasty and/or healthy food. As such, artisan cheesemaking is a pursuit thought to contribute to social, environmental and economic sustainability. Yet artisan scale entrepreneurs often face low profit margins, distribution challenges, capital limits, technology failures, and knowledge deficits, presenting formidable obstacles to sustainable operations. Thus assessing artisans’ sustainability is key to understanding the degree to which positive environmental, social and economic outcomes are reflected in their lived experience. Through interviews with 30 of the current 39 Maine Cheese Guild artisan cheesemakers, this study assesses cheesemakers’ operations and their perceptions of their economic, social, and environmental sustainability.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Stephanie Welcomer earned her PhD at the Pennsylvania State University and is a Professor of Management at the University of Maine. She served as Associate Dean from 2010-2016, overseeing administration of over 1000 undergraduate students. Dr Welcomer’s research has focused on the intersection of sustainable businesses, communities and environments and she has recently published articles on climate change and farming, farmers’ adaptation strategies for energy resources, and proenvironmental behavior. She is currently working on a study of sustainability and social change related to artisanal cheesemaking. Most of her work is undergirded by her interests in sustainable food systems and their evolution via human networks, power, and language. Her teaching areas include strategic management, business ethics, and organizational behavior at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Additionally Dr Welcomer has regularly taught internationally – in Angers France she has taught Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility to University of Angers graduate students. She has also led groups of MBAs to Nicaragua to study fair trade coffee (2011) and to Vietnam to study its integration of market principles (2015).

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