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Full-Text Articles in Rural Sociology
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Governance, Globalization, And The State, Alessandro Bonanno
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
No abstract provided.
Place Bonding And Trust: The Case Of Feral Hog Management Surrounding Big Thicket National Preserve, Christopher J. Wynveen, Gerard T. Kyle, Gene L. Theodori
Place Bonding And Trust: The Case Of Feral Hog Management Surrounding Big Thicket National Preserve, Christopher J. Wynveen, Gerard T. Kyle, Gene L. Theodori
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
The management of feral hogs surrounding the Big Thicket National Preserve (BTNP) in Texas calls for managers and stakeholders to work together to manage resource issues. Research has indicated that place bonding can be a common ground upon which managers and stakeholders develop trust in one another to form a basis for collaborative management. However, such research has not examined the different types of trust (e.g., trust in local managers and trust in an entire agency) that exist. This investigation compared several models of trust and then sought to identify the relationship between place bonding and trust. Data were collected …
Janet Poppendieck, Free For All: Fixing School Food In America, Cheryl Hudee
Janet Poppendieck, Free For All: Fixing School Food In America, Cheryl Hudee
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Review of Free for All: Fixing School Food in America, by Janet Poppendieck
Type Iii Error In Social Problem Solving: Application Of The Analytic Hierarchy Process (Ahp), Terrence Thomas, Cihat Gunden
Type Iii Error In Social Problem Solving: Application Of The Analytic Hierarchy Process (Ahp), Terrence Thomas, Cihat Gunden
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
A diverse group comprising the University of Georgia, Athens; Tuskegee University; and community based organizations undertook to develop an organization modeled after a federal commission to address persistent poverty in the Black Belt Region (BBR). In spite of objective data describing poverty in the region, each stakeholder viewed the problem differently. As a result, two different legislative initiatives were designed to address the problem. Competition and disagreement among the stakeholders fueled a rush to formulate a solution without first investing sufficient effort to define the right problem. Failure to define the right problem could lead to a Type III error: …
[Un]Common Language: The Corporate Appropriation Of Alternative Agro-Food Frames, Alison E. Adams, Thomas E. Shriver
[Un]Common Language: The Corporate Appropriation Of Alternative Agro-Food Frames, Alison E. Adams, Thomas E. Shriver
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Discourses and arguments regarding our increasingly globalized food system include complicated issues such as sustainability, ethical trade, localized sourcing, and food justice. However, recent research has largely glossed over how broader discursive structures can simultaneously facilitate and hinder social movement action in this area. The purpose of this study is to explore broader trends in public discourse and corporate public relations in the alternative agro-food movement (AAF). We conducted a qualitative discourse analysis to identify how powerful corporate agribusinesses use salient AAF frames in organizational literature. Our findings indicate that corporations are selectively using AAF frames to garner public support …
Spatial Contours Of Potential Biomass Crop Production: An Examination Of Variations By U.S. Region, Frank M. Howell, Jeremy R. Porter, Philip B. Mason, Troy C. Blanchard
Spatial Contours Of Potential Biomass Crop Production: An Examination Of Variations By U.S. Region, Frank M. Howell, Jeremy R. Porter, Philip B. Mason, Troy C. Blanchard
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
The recent and projected status of energy production and consumption in the United States, resulting in substantial dependencies upon foreign oil, has continued to provide pressure on domestic energy security. All told, bio-energy systems, and biomass crop production in particular, will be important elements of national security, economic vitality, and public policy. Using biomass crop estimates based upon models developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Department of Energy (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory, we identify potential biomass crop production zones using spatial analysis methods. The Midwest and the South are, by far, the largest regions of potential …
It's Our Most Rural Region; It's The Poorest; It's The Black Belt South; And It Needs Our Attention, Ronald C. Wimberley
It's Our Most Rural Region; It's The Poorest; It's The Black Belt South; And It Needs Our Attention, Ronald C. Wimberley
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
No abstract provided.
Amy Trubek, The Taste Of Place: A Cultural Journey Into Terroir, Stacia Falat, Jayson Otto
Amy Trubek, The Taste Of Place: A Cultural Journey Into Terroir, Stacia Falat, Jayson Otto
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Review of The Taste of Place: A Cultural Journey into Terroir, by Amy Trubek
The Land Question And Ethnicity In The Darjeeling Hills, Swatahsiddha Sarkar
The Land Question And Ethnicity In The Darjeeling Hills, Swatahsiddha Sarkar
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Although economic factors are often considered as essential for augmenting ethnic movements, the analytic relationship between economic issues and ethnicity is far from being clear cut. In an attempt to address the problem of ethnicity in a non-Marxist theoretical plane, most of the studies on ethnic problems inadvertently indulge such logical inconsistencies. Such a critical reading led us to conceptualize ethnicity as a lived-in category – much like the concepts of class or caste – where both the material and cultural domain of routine life congregates. With the help of a case study of the Gorkhaland movement in the Darjeeling …
The Effects Of Moral Obligations To Others And Others' Influence On Veterinarians' Attitudes Toward And Recommendations To Utilize Antibiotics In Feedlot Cattle, Jie-Sheng Jan, William Alex Mcintosh, H. Morgan Scott, Wesley Dean
The Effects Of Moral Obligations To Others And Others' Influence On Veterinarians' Attitudes Toward And Recommendations To Utilize Antibiotics In Feedlot Cattle, Jie-Sheng Jan, William Alex Mcintosh, H. Morgan Scott, Wesley Dean
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Decisions to behave in particular ways depend on beliefs, social norms, perceived constraints, and attitudes. Recently, this perspective has been expanded to consider the role of moral obligations in such decisions. Largely ignored are the possible interrelations among moral obligations to significant others and significant others’ influences as they interact to affect decisions. This is of particular interest when a strong moral obligation toward a significant other is associated with strong behavioral expectations by that same significant other. We investigated the interrelations among moral obligations to, and behavioral expectations from, 11 types of significant others in the cattle feeding industry …
Economic Restructuring And Education In The Nonmetropolitan United States, Don E. Albrecht, Carol Mulford Albrecht
Economic Restructuring And Education In The Nonmetropolitan United States, Don E. Albrecht, Carol Mulford Albrecht
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Nonmetropolitan communities in the United States have historically depended on natural resources industries and manufacturing for their employment and sustenance. In recent decades, the number of jobs in these goods-producing industries has steadily declined, and this trend is likely to continue. The loss of goods producing jobs has been offset by increased employment in the service sector. A prominent concern resulting from this economic structure transformation is the impending mismatch in the education and skills of nonmetro workers and the education and skills needed to obtain high quality employment in the service sector. The data presented in this manuscript show …
Applying Craft For Sociological Practice: Place In Odyssey, George K. Floro
Applying Craft For Sociological Practice: Place In Odyssey, George K. Floro
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
In this presentation it is assumed that craft for sociological practice, an applied side of the discipline, could be expanded if sociologists knew how to do the craft or, if they already know, want to engage in the practice. Its potential is illustrated in one sector. The selection, when associated with decisions or action, comes out of public participation in collective life, often in the framework of an entire society or some action center in it. The name often associated with it is Sociological Imagination. An associated task is to identify “contradictions” and to explore ways to resolve them as …
Alessandro Bonanno And Douglas H. Constance, Stories Of Globalization: Transnational Corporations, Resistance, And The State, Ariel Brovont, Emily Reiersgaard
Alessandro Bonanno And Douglas H. Constance, Stories Of Globalization: Transnational Corporations, Resistance, And The State, Ariel Brovont, Emily Reiersgaard
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Review of Stories of Globalization: Transnational Corporations, Resistance, and the State, by Alessandro Bonanno and Douglas H. Constance
Wayne Roberts, The No-Nonsense Guide To World Food, Rachel Kelly, Timothy Ledoux
Wayne Roberts, The No-Nonsense Guide To World Food, Rachel Kelly, Timothy Ledoux
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Review of The No-Nonsense Guide to World Food, by Wayne Roberts
Household Food Insecurity And Depression Among Single Mothers In Rural Alabama, Andrew A. Zekeri
Household Food Insecurity And Depression Among Single Mothers In Rural Alabama, Andrew A. Zekeri
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Although we live in a wealthy nation, food insecurity, whereby individuals and families have limited or uncertain access to food due to lack of financial resources, continues to affect millions of American families. The objective of this study was twofold: to determine the prevalence of food insecurity among single mothers in rural Alabama; and to determine the extent to which food insecurity is associated with depression. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 300 single mothers living in five rural counties in Alabama using the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module and Center for Epidemiologic Study of Depression (CES-D) scale. About 36% …
Quality Of Life Trends In The Southern Black Belt, 1980-2005: A Research Note, Dale W. Wimberley
Quality Of Life Trends In The Southern Black Belt, 1980-2005: A Research Note, Dale W. Wimberley
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Previous research shows that the Southern Black Belt compares badly to the rest of the U.S., in terms of poverty, median incomes, mortality, unemployment rates, and educational levels. This study updates those earlier studies with 2000 and 2005 data to statistically assess these problems’ recent severity, and examines trends since 1980 to assess the Black Belt’s progress or regress relative to the rest of the South and the NonSouth. I used Census and other federal data for the analysis. The Black Belt’s education levels have improved substantially, nearly catching up with other regions. Yet compared with the rest of the …
How Farmers Learn: Implications For Agricultural Educators, Nancy Franz, Fred Piercy, Joseph Donaldson, Robert Richard, Johnnie Westbrook
How Farmers Learn: Implications For Agricultural Educators, Nancy Franz, Fred Piercy, Joseph Donaldson, Robert Richard, Johnnie Westbrook
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
In this participatory action research, guided by a steering committee of farmers and agricultural educators, we examined how farmers learn and identified implications for agricultural educators. Since most educators teach the way they prefer to learn, this research could shape agricultural educators’ practice with farmers. Focus group interviews and surveys with 115 farmers and agricultural educators helped us understand how and why farmers learn and the role of agricultural educators, especially Extension educators, in farmer learning. Farmers articulated a learning process that relies mostly on first-hand experiences motivated by saving time and money, learning about cutting edge research, and engaging …