ABSTRACT
This chapter reconsiders how social scientists may be more inclusive of the range of material participants involved in environmental social problems and in environmental justice (EJ) scholarship. By employing case examples comparing contemporary plant agricultures in the US Midwest with hop growing in the US Northwest, I ask, (1) (How) Do the many materials and things involved in these agricultures participate as actors with agency in farming practices? And (2) How would this more enlivened view of agriculture impact social science inquiry into just transitions during the Anthropocene? In responding to these questions, I identify that key participants shaping these social worlds include the plant genetic resources (PGRs) of each crop. I show that different socio-material arrangements can “free” or “control” these PGRs and the many environmental things that participate in both agricultural settings. Broadly, I argue that helping to “free” the many things of agriculture by recognizing their agency and encouraging more collaborative methods for innovation is an integral component for co-producing more environmentally just futures in the Anthropocene.
