Christy M Getz

Assistant Cooperative Extension Specialist
Ph.D.  
B.S.  

130A Giannini Hall
Berkeley, California
cgetz@berkeley.edu
office: 510-642-8681   lab: 510-642-8681   fax:  510-643-5438

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As a Cooperative Extension Specialist in the Division of Society & Environment, I conduct research and extension that link natural resource-dependent people, activities, enterprises, and organizations in California with teaching and research programs in ESPM. Specifically, I conduct applied research and outreach that promote socially-just, sustainable development in California. My program is focused on the following areas: (1) community and economic development in natural resource dependent communities; (2) social justice and labor in natural resource dependent industries; and (3) sustainable food systems and community food security.

A collaboration among the DANR Building Food Security Workgroup, the California Institute for Rural Studies (CIRS), and Centro La Familia Advocacy Services, this four-year research and implementation project aims to increase food security among farmworkers and their family members in Fresno County. These are our goals: (a) to do qualitative and quantitative research about food insecurity among farmworkers, in terms of access to sufficient food and access to a healthy diet; (b) to identify barriers to food security and community-based assets that can be leveraged to increase food security; (c) to identify variations in food security among sub-populations within the farmworker community; (d) to promote increased collaboration and research capacity among stakeholders currently working to improve the health and well-being of farmworkers in Fresno County; (e) to formulate recommendations for relevant policies and programs; and (f) to create a Farmworker Food Security Taskforce that will promote the implementation of recommendations.

Through this multi-year project, we are identifying and documenting the historical, current, and future role of biological control (importation, augmentation, and conservation) in pest management for key commodities in California, as well as identifying key barriers and opportunities for greater implementation of biological control in pest management. Through interviews, surveys, and funding analyses, the social science component of this project addresses the following questions: What is the current status of biological control knowledge and practice in California agriculture, in light of agriculture policy and funding trends? How is biocontrol practice in California agriculture defined by institutions (both social organizations and patterns of thought)? What factors account for the fragmented character of its institutions and knowledge? What opportunities could be realized through policy interventions?

In collaboration with the United Farmworkers Union (UFW) and the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP), this project aims to improve our understanding of the implications of organic agriculture for farmworkers and to situate the experiences of farmworkers on organic and mixed farms within a broader socio-political context. We are conducting qualitative interviews with farmworkers, growers, and key players in the organic sector and movement (including representatives from certification agencies, organizations supporting organic agriculture, retailers, and distributors). Additionally, we are surveying 500 organic farmers on their views of the role of social issues within organic certification.

A collaboration between the Department of ESPM and the community-based North Coast Restoration Jobs Initiative Committee (NCRJI), we are conducting applied research to inform and guide the development of a union-endorsed apprenticeship program for watershed restoration workers in Humboldt County, California. We are interviewing workers, academics, and other professionals in the field, evaluating current and past restoration training programs, and exploring lessons learned from union apprenticeship programs in related trades.

We are developing a participatory biodiversity inventory and monitoring system that involves local people in inventory and monitoring to improve sustainable forest management on public and private lands in the United States.

Getz, Christy and Keith Warner. In press. “Integrated farming systems and pollution prevention strategies stimulate new extension practice.” Journal of Extension.

Shreck, Aimee, Christy Getz and Gail Feenstra. In press. “Social Sustainability, Farm Labor, and Organic Agriculture: Findings from an Exploratory Analysis.” Agriculture and Human Values.

Shreck, Aimee, Christy Getz and Gail Feenstra. Winter-Spring 2005. "Farmworkers in Organic Agriculture: Towards a Broader Notion of Sustainable Agriculture" The Newsletter of the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. Davis, CA: UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Vol. 17, No. 1: pp. 1-3.

Ballard, Heidi, David Pilz, Eric T. Jones and Christy Getz. 2005. Training Curriculum for Scientists and Managers: Broadening Participation in Biological Monitoring. Institute for Culture and Ecology.

Davis, Andrea and Christy Getz. February 2005. Worker Training in the Watershed Restoration Industry of Humboldt County, California: A report to explore opportunities training watershed restoration workers. Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment.

Ganapathy, Sujatha, Christy Getz and Shelia Bliss-Duffy. January 2005. A Framework for Understanding Food Insecurity: An Anti-Hunger Approach, A Food Systems Approach. Berkeley, CA: UC Center for Weight and Health. 114 pp.

Getz, Christina and Aimee Shreck. 2004. "The Price of Certification: An exploration of the 'Hidden Costs' to Labor, Communities and the Environment." Paper presented at the 67th Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society. Sacramento, California.

Shreck, Aimee and Christina Getz. 2004. "Social Justice and Sustainable Agriculture: The 'Labor Question' and the Organic Agriculture Movement in California." Paper presented at the 67th Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society. Sacramento, California.

The Economic Impact of Solano County's Agricultural Industry. December 2003. Division of Agriculture and Natural Resource, UC Cooperative Extension.

Buck, Daniel, Christy Getz and Julie Guthman. 1997. "Organic Farming: Social Movement or Capitalist Appropriation?" Sociologia Ruralis. Volume 37: 3-20.

Buck, Daniel, Christy Getz and Julie Guthman. 1996. "Consolidating the CommodityChain: Organic Farming and Agribusiness in Northern California." Institute for Food and Development Policy, Oakland, CA, 1996.