Contesting U.S. Farm Policy: The Sustainable Agriculture Movement Challenge.

A coalition of grassroots sustainable agriculture movement organizations has mounted a policy challenge to the fundamental principles of six decades of U.S. farm policy. This challenge is explored through a case study of the 2002 farm bill lobbying efforts of one of the most important of these coalition actors, the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture (NCSA). The social dynamics of NCSA policy action are analyzed using the conceptual tools of social movement theory, e.g., political opportunity structure, framing alignment, and organizational networking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]