Rural Resistance: A Comparative Study of the Cultures of Working Landscapes in Galicia and the Western United States

This paper presents a studyconceived with the objectivesof addressing anidentified lack of qualitative date regarding working landscapes andof turning attention towards the oft-forgotten producer. Using field research conducted in the form of open interviews, this study presents an analysis ofnarratives collectedfrom small-scale ecological producers in two study groups—the firstcomposed of producers from the Spanish province of Galicia and the second with representatives from six states in the Western US. The principal question of study is what is important to these producers and what do theyvalue?, and conclusions were made through a comparative cultural analysis. The findings point toa shared culture of resistance grounded in a system of common values based on lifestyle, community, relationship to their ecosystems, and a desire to continue following this value-system in defianceof political, social and economic structures that renderthis increasingly difficult. Through their determination and resilience, and in spite of the crushing weight of industrial agriculture, small-scale ecological producers have re-defined their culture into one of resistance to and rejection of the values imposed by the Western world