Science in the Negotiation of Quality in Agricultural Subsectors

该项目将考察农业科学新发展中的伦理和政治层面，并阐明伦理、社会和科学优先事项交叉中所蕴含的价值。将选择两种不同栽培的两种不同作物进行深入研究。当代农业通常被划分为子部门，即围绕特定商品组织起来的人和物的社会网络，并通过谈判将其结合在一起。子行业也是改造自然和（重新）分配收入、财富、地位和权力的工具。子领域中的不同参与者对“好”的定义不同。一个优秀的科学家、农民、加工者等等，都必须通过不同的测试来证明他们的优点。同样，商品必须通过不同的质量检测。不同行为者之间的妥协可能有利于共同利益。本项目考察了在子部门维护和转型中体现出来的道德承诺和价值观，以及如何调解冲突。它研究了伦理和价值问题如何进入科学和技术过程，反过来，各种参与者如何使用这些过程和其他策略来进一步促进某些价值观。通过历史研究、访谈和文献内容分析，该项目追踪了两种商品从生产到消费的复杂路径。它注意到商品和社会行动者的转变是如何在每一步进行谈判的。一些听众——农业科学家、管理人员、政策制定者和研究科学、技术和社会关系的学者——将对这个项目的结果感兴趣。将采用不同的途径向这些不同的受众和一般公众介绍结果。

This project will examine ethical and political dimensions in new developments in agricultural science, and illuminate the values imbedded in the intersection of ethical, social and scientific priorities. Two different crops in two different cultures will be selected for intensive study. Contemporary agriculture is often divided into subsectors, i.e., social networks of people and things organized around given commodities and held together through negotiations. Subsectors are also vehicles for transforming nature and (re)distributing income, wealth, status, and power. Different actors within a subsector define the good differently. A good scientist, farmer, processor, etc., must each pass different tests to demonstrate their goodness. Similarly, the commodities must pass different quality tests. The common good may be served by a compromise among the different actors. This project examines ethical commitments and values as they manifest themselves in subsector maintenance and transformation, and how conflicts are mediated. It examines how ethical and value issues enter into scientific and technical processes and, conversely, how various actors use such processes and other strategies to further certain values. Using historical studies, interviews, and content analysis of the literature, the project follows two commodities through the complex path from production to consumption. It notes how the transformation of both the commodity and the social actors is negotiated at each step. Several audiences -- agricultural scientists, administrators, policy makers, and scholars who study the relationships of science, technology and society -- will be interested in the results of this project. Different routes will be used to address results to these different audiences and the general public.