ABSTRACT
The production of craft hard cider has been pitched as a lifeline to small- and medium-scale apple producers in Canada and the United States, who are grappling with the pressures of global capitalism. A key marketing tool has been to foreground the unique geographical region in which the apples are produced and fermented into alcohol. While many craft cider producers are at an early stage of business development, some have expressed interest in geographical indication (GI). However, the viability of the craft cider industry remains largely dependent on racialized migrant workers who face considerable barriers to accessing basic rights and freedoms. Amid efforts to link craft cider to specific places and construct artisanal livelihoods as prestigious, how does the craft cider industry account for its dependence on workers who are not from those places and are employed in so-called bad jobs? To explore this question, I draw on interviews and participant observation with actors throughout the Canadian and US cider, apple and horticultural industry. I argue that there would be considerable logistical and cultural barriers to distributing material premiums and symbolic recognition from GI craft cider to farm workers in this context and that more fundamental policy changes are crucial.
