Nature and the Environment in Amish Life—David McConnell and Marilyn Loveless

"In this symposium review, three agricultural and environmental researchers discuss the book Nature and the Environment in Amish Life by David McConnell and Marilyn Loveless, both of the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. McConnell is an anthropology professor and co-author of Amish Paradox (2010, Johns Hopkins University Press) and has published his research in Human Organization, Anthropology and Education Quarterly, and the Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies (JAPAS) (Moledina, et al. 2014). Loveless is a biology emeritus professor; this is her first academic publication about the Amish. Our reviewers offer a variety of reactions to this book. The first reviewer, historian Steven Reschly, is a founding board member of the Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies and is currently assistant editor. He has written on Amish agricultural history in The Amish on the Iowa Prairie (2000, Johns Hopkins University Press) and in articles in Agricultural History, Mennonite Quarterly Review, JAPAS, and others. Scot Long completed his Ph.D. in anthropology at Ohio State University, having conducted extensive research on Amish farm households in southeastern Holmes County, OH. He has also published in JAPAS (Long and Moore 2014) about the impact of the environmental landscape on Amish church districts. Caroline Brock completed her Ph.D. in envirnoment and resources at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focuses on theoretical models for understanding Amish responses to agriculture and the environment, including organic dairy adoption and water quality conservation practices. Her research has appeared in Environmental Management, Society & Natural Resources, Journal of Rural Studies, Sustainability, JAPAS, and other outlets. She recently worked as a senior research associate at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster, OH. This book will certainly generate many conversations and hopefully inspire further research into the Amish relationships with agriculture and the environment. [Abstract by editor]"