Rural Sociology Commons^™

Nutrient Management Record Keeping Calendar, July 2011-December 2012, Leslie J. Johnson, Charles Shapiro, Charles Wortmann, Chris G. Henry, Larry Howard, Tamilee D. Nennich

Nebraska Extension: Faculty and Staff Publications

Records for Nebraska Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

Record the initials of the person performing the inspection each time. Check marks will not satisfy the record-keeping requirements.

Record any maintenance and/or repairs.

Correct all deficiencies within 30 days.

It’S Growing Season For Maine’S Food System, Deborah Felder

Maine Policy Review

In the introduction to this special issue, guest editor Deb Felder lays out the elements of a sustainable food system. She notes that the increased interest in more ecologically sustainable, safe, humane, and economical community-supported food systems has “put Maine in the forefront of the food movement.”

Factors That Contribute To Student Graduation And Dropout Rates: An In-Depth Study Of A Rural Appalachian School District, Ann Lyttle-Burns

Online Theses and Dissertations

There has been a wealth of research conducted on the national epidemic of high school dropouts spanning several decades. It is estimated that the class of 2009 cost the nation $335 billion in lost wages, taxes and productivity over their lifetimes (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2009). The citizenry of the country suffers not only because of the loss in revenue but also as a result of the education level of the population. Individuals who choose to drop out of high school are not prepared for the most basic minimum wage jobs available, much less well paying jobs that sustain livelihoods. …

Nasis 2011: Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey Questionnaire, Bureau Of Sociological Research

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS)

[ About this Survey ] We need your help to learn about how Nebraskans' think, feel, and live. Your responses will help shape program and policy development in Nebraska now and into the future.

This survey includes questions on various topics, such as water issues, life processes, crime, and the media to name a few. Each section starts with a header to identify the topic related to the questions. We think you will find many, if not all, of the topics interesting and easy to answer.

68 questions; 12 pages

Fair Trade And Fair Trade Certification Of Food And Agricultural Commodities: Promises, Pitfalls, And Possibilities, Sarasij Majumder

Sarasij Majumder

The global circulation of food and agricultural commodities is increasingly influenced by the ethical choices of Western consumers and activists who want to see a socially and environmentally sustainable trade regime in place. These desires have culminated in the formation of an elaborate system of rules, which govern the physical and social conditions of food production and circulation, reflected in transnational ethical regimes such as fair trade. Fair trade operates through certifying producer communities with sustainable production methods and socially just production relationships. By examining interdisciplinary academic engagements with fair trade, we argue that fair trade certification is a transnational …

The Michigan State University School Of Agrifood Governance And Technoscience: Democracy, Justice, And Sustainability In An Age Of Scientism, Marketism, And Statism, Jason Konefal, Maki Hatanaka

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

In this article, we introduce the Michigan State University (MSU) School of Agrifood Governance and Technoscience. Centered on the work of Dr. Lawrence Busch, the MSU School examines how science, the market, and the state function in food and agriculture, and possibilities to make these institutions more democratic, equitable, and just. Research by the MSU School consists of four specific foci: (1) actor-network theory and commodity studies, (2) standards, (3) third-party certification and tripartite standards regimes, and (4) supermarkets and supply chain management. We review each of these areas and discuss how the research in each contributes to democratizing science, …

Standards, Law, And Governance, Lawrence Busch

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

The last several centuries have been marked first by a tendency toward the use of standards to standardize, and then by the use of standards to differentiate. Both have been built on the legal edifice of the state. More recently, in response to the rapid rise of neoliberalism, standardized differentiation has increased in scope and has become part of a larger Tripartite Standards Regime (TSR) consisting of standards, certifications, and accreditations. Over the last half century, the TSR has grown to cover nearly every aspect of social life. In many ways this new form of governance replaces and transmutes positive …

Assessing Rule-Based Governance Mechanisms In An Era Of Scientism, Maki Hatanaka

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

With neoliberal reforms and economic globalization, much of the regulation of food and agriculture is shifting from the state to the private sphere. Building on Busch’s work on science, the state, and the market, this paper examines the ways in which the governance of food and agriculture has become increasingly scientized with the use of third-party certification (TPC). TPC is a rule-based governance mechanism that consists of technical rules and procedures, which are based on scientific norms and practices. Using longitudinal research on an organic shrimp project in Indonesia, this paper examines the practices of TPC. Specifically, the focus is …

A Note On The Economy Of Qualities: Attributing Production Practices To Agricultural Practices, B. James Deaton, Lawrence Busch, Warren J. Samuels, Paul B. Thompson

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Agricultural products are valued for many attributes including those that describe production practices. These production attributes are established through public and private efforts to promulgate standards and labels that differentiate products based on labor treatment, environmental impact, animal welfare, and other practices that occur during production. Organizations, like third-party certifiers, coordinate information and give credence to products in a way that enables consumers to differentiate products by production practices. Libertarian and utilitarian arguments may be used in the normative debate surrounding the appropriate role of government in sponsoring standards and labels that inform consumers about the modes of production.

An Interview With Dr. Lawrence Busch Of The Michigan State University School Of Agrifood Governance And Technoscience, Jason Konefal, Maki Hatanaka

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

An Interview with Dr. Lawrence Busch of the Michigan State University School of Agrifood Governance and Technoscience

Science, Standards, And Power: New Food Safety Governance In California, Diana Stuart

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

In 2006, an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 associated with California spinach resulted in widespread illness across the United States. The magnitude of the outbreak and the resulting media attention demanded a change in the governance of leafy green produce. Drawing from more than 130 personal interviews, this paper critically examines how powerful players in the produce industry organized a strategic approach to governing leafy greens production in California. Networks are used to explore the evolution of new industry-led food safety standards and how they directly conflicted with and overpowered environmental agendas. This paper highlights serious concerns regarding participation and …

Constructing Credibility: Using Technoscience To Legitimate Strategies In Agrifood Governance, Carmen Bain, Elizabeth Ransom, Michelle R. Worosz

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Agrifood scholars working within a political economy framework increasingly draw upon the concept of governance to analyze the regulation of global agricultural and food systems. An important limitation of this approach is that it fails to explain how governance strategies are legitimated. Drawing on three diverse cases that span three continents, our paper examines how standards makers appeal to technoscientific norms and values to establish both credibility for their standards and their authority in constructing them. These cases explore the development and implementation of a standard requiring complete elimination of a tart cherry insect pest in the United States; the …

Sustainably Performed: Reconciling Global Value Chain Governance And Performativity, Allison Loconto

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Merging theories of performativity with Global Value Chains (GVC) analysis, I explore how standards are used within GVCs to govern interactions among actors and to perform a multiplicity of ‘sustainabilities.’ Specifically, this paper presents four case studies of certified tea production in Tanzania (i.e., the Ethical Tea Partnership, Fairtrade, Organic, and Rainforest Alliance) to reveal how visions of sustainability are enacted by different actors in each certified value chain. This analysis reveals that, while the Rainforest Alliance and Ethical Tea Partnership ‘sustainabilities’ are ‘generically’ performed,the Fairtrade andOrganic ‘sustainabilities’ are ‘effective’ in enacting multiple versions of sustainability that have facilitated changes …

Gregory S. Alexander And Eduardo M Penalver, Property And Community, Charles C. Geisler

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Review of Property and Community, by Gregory S. Alexander and Eduardo M. Peñalver (eds.)

Food, The Environment, And Democracy: A Case Study Of The Marine Conservation Movement's Shift From State-Centered To Market-Based Approaches, Jason Konefal

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This paper examines the shift by the marine conservation movement from state-centered to market-based strategies and its implications for the democratization of food and agriculture. Using two theoretical frameworks form social movement theory – the opportunities approach and resource mobilization theory – three factors are identified as driving the shift by marine conservation organizations to market-based strategies. First, limited success using state-centered strategies created the impetus for marine conservation organizations to seek out alternative strategies. Second, changes in food and agriculture created opportunities for market based strategies. Specifically, the emergence of retailers as leader actors, the development of an economy …

Patrick J. Carr And Maria J. Kefalas, Hollowing Out The Middle: The Rural Brain Drain And What It Means For America, Peter A. Kindle

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Review of Hollowing Out the Middle: The Rural Brain Drain and What It Means for America, by Patrick J. Carr and Maria J. Kefalas

A Role For Ethical Analysis In Social Research On Agrifood And Environmental Standards, Kyle Powys White, Paul B. Thompson

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Lawrence Busch claims that, although some philosophers may recognize the ethical import of standards, they do not endeavor to understand how people justify standards in social reality. The argument in this paper is that the Michigan State University (MSU) School of Agrifood Governance and Technoscience should actually be understood as fleshing out a more important role for ethicists. This argument is explored through an analysis of the MSU School’s research on standards, a reassessment of J.O. Urmson’s “On Grading,” and a review of major ethical theories, from utilitarianism to discourse ethics. The conclusion is that, though standards may be used …

Technoscience In Agriculture: Reflections On The Contributions Of The Msu School Of Sociology Of Food And Agriculture, Keiko Tanaka, Arunsa Juska

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This paper argues that one of the most important contributions of the MSU School of Agrifood Governance and Technoscience (MSU-SAGT) was its focus on previously less explored and analyzed roles of technoscience in agriculture.The notion of technoscience was derived from the broader field of Science and Technology Studies, especially from Actor Network Theory.Studies conducted under Lawrence Busch’s direction conceptualized this notion to indicate networks/collectives of human and nonhuman actors implicated in production, distribution and consumption of food. While these studies analyzed the role of technoscience in transforming agriculture, they also examined ethical issues (e.g.,social justice and democracy)that arise from the …

Governance, Globalization, And The State, Alessandro Bonanno

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

More Than One In Ten American Households Relies On Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits, Jessica A. Bean, Marybeth J. Mattingly

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the most responsive federal programs to economic downturns, as evidence by the increases in SNAP use between 2007 and 2009. Nationally, more than one in ten households relies on SNAP benefits, and the rate is even higher in rural areas, with more than 13 percent of households reporting use. This brief examines the trends in SNAP use across the United States since the recession began in 2007 and considers the impact of legislation in the Congress on those who rely on SNAP to make ends meet.