Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Geography

Selected Works

Selected Works

Agriculture

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Science, Sentience, And Animal Welfare, Robert C. Jones Jul 2017

Science, Sentience, And Animal Welfare, Robert C. Jones

Robert C. Jones, PhD

I sketch briefly some of the more influential theories concerned with the moral status of nonhuman animals, highlighting their biological/physiological aspects. I then survey the most prominent empirical research on the physiological and cognitive capacities of nonhuman animals, focusing primarily on sentience, but looking also at a few other morally relevant capacities such as self-awareness, memory, and mindreading. Lastly, I discuss two examples of current animal welfare policy, namely, animals used in industrialized food production and in scientific research. I argue that even the most progressive current welfare policies lag behind, are ignorant of, or arbitrarily disregard the science on …


Tb182: Agricultural Land Changes In Maine: A Compilation And Brief Analysis Of Census Of Agriculture Data, 1850-1997, Soeun Ahn, William B. Krohn, Andrew J. Plantinga, Timothy J. Dalton Aug 2013

Tb182: Agricultural Land Changes In Maine: A Compilation And Brief Analysis Of Census Of Agriculture Data, 1850-1997, Soeun Ahn, William B. Krohn, Andrew J. Plantinga, Timothy J. Dalton

William B. Krohn

The purpose of this study is to compile the best available long-term historical information on agricultural land use in Maine and to briefly analyze these data to develop a statewide description of Maine's land use history from the mid-1800s to present. Our emphasis is on compiling statistically based information and, in particular, land use data reported in the Census of Agriculture. Objectives were (1) to compile available statewide data on agricultural land and land cover (LULC) in Maine, 1850-1997; (2) to examine temporal and spatial patterns in the LULC of Maine; and (3) to discuss the implications of the major …


When Beef Was King. Or Why Do Colombians Eat So Little Pork?, Shawn Van Ausdal Mar 2008

When Beef Was King. Or Why Do Colombians Eat So Little Pork?, Shawn Van Ausdal

Shawn Van Ausdal

This article seeks to understand why Colombians, compared to many other Latin Americans, have traditionally eaten so much more beef than pork. The article first points to the development of a culinary tradition that favored beef. The bulk of the argument, though, centers on the fact that, historically, beef has been substantially cheaper than pork. This price difference, in turn, is rooted in the low productivity of Colombian agriculture, which made corn, often used to fatten hogs, expensive. Additional factors that favored beef include a receding agrarian frontier, a small hog population, the various advantages of cattle, a conflict–ridden history …