Commentary social justice and sustainable agriculture: Moving beyond theory

One of the ongoing debates in the sustainable agriculture community is whether its platform should include social justice issues like farmworker rights, economic concentration, and hunger. The commentary describes the evolution of this controversy, and places it in the context of competing and complicated moral theories that turn out to be of somewhat limited use in political arguments. The essay also outlines ways in which the present political climate is presenting a challenge to sustainable agriculture proponents, who, in response, are building new linkages with urban interests, including anti-hunger organization. Despite abstract philosophical and more real political problems, a community food security agenda is being crafted, joining the interests of small farms, family farm, and sustainability advocates, and anti-hunger groups. Their focus is community and economic development as a way to improve the quality and availability of inner city food supplies, and to develop new markets and political allies for farmers.     

Sustainability and the moral community

Three views of sustainability are juxtaposed with four views about who the members of the moral community are. These provide points of contact for understanding the moral issues in sustainability. Attention is drawn to the preferred epistemic methods of the differing factions arguing for sustainability. Criteria for defining membership in the moral community are explored; rationality and capacity for pain are rejected as consistent criteria. The criterion of having interests is shown to be most coherent for explaining why all living humans belong to the moral community. This criterion allows inclusion of future generations as well, and extends to animals and plants membership in the moral community. Inferences are drawn that food sufficiency advocates hold only presently living persons to be full-fledged members of the moral community, but that this view is internally inconsistent. Stewards should agree that all living things are members of the moral community. A distinction between welfare interests and ulterior interests allows the steward to include the aims of those who argue for sustainability as community without committing some of their errors. Community advocates argue that essential values and virtues will be lost is the culture of agriculture is transformed. I argue that community advocates may fail to pass on our most important virtue — justice — without such a transformation.     

浅淡中国贸易与环境问题的法律对策

20世纪90年代以来,随着联合国环发会议的进程,贸易、环境与可持续发展问题日益突出,如何协调国际贸易与环境保护的关系,是入世后中国面临的一项迫切任务,它不但影响到中国在WTO中的权利与义务,也影响中国以后的对外贸易发展、环境保护以及可持续发展的目标的实现。中国一方面应完善环保法律、法规以适应入世需要,另一方面应积极参与国际合作以表明中国的立场,避免二者冲突对中国造成不利影响。     

Designing sustainable agriculture education: Academics’ suggestions for an undergraduate curriculum at a land grant university

Historically, land grant universities and their colleges of agriculture have been discipline driven in both their curricula and research agendas. Critics call for interdisciplinary approaches to undergraduate curriculum. Concomitantly, sustainable agriculture (SA) education is beginning to emerge as a way to address many complex social and environmental problems. University of California at Davis faculty, staff, and students are developing an undergraduate SA major. To inform this process, a web-based Delphi survey of academics working in fields related to SA was conducted. Faculty from colleges and universities across the US were surveyed. Participants suggested that students needed knowledge of natural and social science disciplines relating to the agri-food system. In addition, stakeholders suggested students learn through experiences that link the classroom to field work, engaging a broad range of actors within applied settings. Stakeholders also emphasized the need for interdisciplinary and applied scholarship. Additionally, they proposed a range of teaching and learning approaches, including many practical experiences. Given the diverse suggestions of content knowledge and means of producing knowledge, the survey presented unique challenges and called into question the epistemological and pedagogical norms currently found in land grant colleges of agriculture. This study has implications for land grant universities seeking to develop undergraduate curriculum appropriate to the field of SA. Damian M. Parr is a doctoral student of Agricultural and Environmental Education, in the School of Education at the University of California at Davis. His professional interests include organic farming, sustainable agriculture, experiential and transformational learning, critical pedagogy, and participatory action research. He is currently working on linking on-campus student initiated sustainable farm and food systems projects to curricula at land grant universities Cary J. Trexler is an assistant professor of Agricultural and Environmental Education at the University of California at Davis where he teaches courses in the history of agricultural education, experiential learning, and research methods for practicing teachers. His research focuses on experiential learning, sustainable agriculture education, and needs of teachers and informal educators within the context of the agri-food system Navina R. Khanna is a graduate student pursuing an MS in International Agricultural Development at the University of California at Davis. She is committed to facilitating community dialogue and education about sustainability issues. Her work at the university focuses on the process and goal of sustainability in agricultural education and campus food system sustainability. Her primary professional interests include democratic participatory process in agri-food system sustainability and urban revitalization Bryce T. Battisti is a doctoral student of Agricultural and Environmental Education, in the School of Education at the University of California at Davis. His research interests include the development of alternative models for university education that are founded on student-centered experiential learning. Specifically, he studies models of permaculture education that lead toward accredited degrees and relates these models to sustainable agriculture degree programs     

Sustainable agriculture and free market economics: Finding common ground in Adam Smith

There are two competing approaches to sustainability in agriculture. One stresses a strict economic approach in which market forces should guide the activities of agricultural producers. The other advocates the need to balance economic with environmental and social objectives, even to the point of reducing profitability. The writings of the eighteenth century moral philosopher Adam Smith could bridge the debate. Smith certainly promoted profit-seeking, private property, and free market exchange consistent with the strict economic perspective. However, his writings are also consistent with many aspects of sustainable agriculture. For example, Smith argued that people ought to exercise restraint in their pursuit of self-interest, and he believed in balancing economic with environmental and social considerations. If both sides of the debate more fully regard the work of Adam Smith, then proponents of the strict economic perspective might be more appreciative of the concerns raised within the sustainable agriculture community, while advocates of sustainability might be more effective in achieving the objective of a sustainable agriculture. Harvey S. James Jr., PhD is an Associate Professor in the Division of Applied Social Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia. His research interests are in the economic determinants of trust and ethical behavior. He recently completed studies on trust in biotechnology institutions and the ethical attitudes of farmers.     

Growing food,growing a movement: climate adaptation and civic agriculture in the southeastern United States

This article examines the role that civic agriculture in Georgia (US) plays in shaping attitudes, strategies, and relationships that foster both sustainability and adaptation to a changing climate. Civic agriculture is a social movement that attracts a specific type of “activist” farmer, who is linked to a strong social network that includes other farmers and consumers. Positioning farmers’ practices within a social movement broadens the understanding of adaptive capacity beyond how farmers adapt to understand why they do so. By drawing upon qualitative and quantitative data and by focusing on the cosmological, organizational, and technical dimensions of the social movement, the study illuminates how social values and networks shape production and marketing strategies that enable farmers to share resources and risks. We propose a conceptual framework for understanding how technical and social strategies aimed to address the sustainability goals of the movement also increase adaptive capacity at multiple timescales. In conclusion, we outline directions for future research, including the need for longitudinal studies that focus on consumer motivation and willingness to pay, the effects of scale on consumer loyalty and producer cooperation, and the role of a social movement in climate change adaptation. Finally, we stress that farmers’ ability to thrive in uncertain climate futures calls for transformative approaches to sustainable agriculture that support the development of strong social networks.     

高校在农业产业产学研合作中的权义责

为了依法促进高校参与农业产业产学研合作,发挥其应有的社会作用,按照自愿与义务相结合、有偿与无偿相结合、市场引导与政府指导相结合、利益共享与风险共担相结合等原则,介绍了高校在合作中的权利、义务和责任,以促进和保障农业产业产学研合作的健康运行。其中,权利应包括合作自由权、经费获得权以及知识产权等方面的内容;义务应围绕接受国家科技项目委托、合理使用经费等加以约定;责任则包括民事、行政和刑事法律责任。     

Towards the sustainable intensification of agriculture—a systems approach to policy formulation

The sustainable intensification of agriculture involves providing sufficient food and other ecosystem services without going beyond the limits of the earth’s system. Here a project management approach is suggested to help guide agricultural policy to deliver these objectives. The first step is to agree measurable outcomes, integrating formal policy goals with the often much less formal and much more diverse goals of individual farmers. The second step is to assess current performance. Ideally, this will involve the use of farm-scale metrics that can feed into process models that address social and environmental domains as well as production issues that can be benchmarked and upscaled to landscape and country. Some policy goals can be delivered by supporting ad hoc interventions, while others require the redesign of the farming system. A pipeline of research, knowledge and capacity building is needed to ensure the continuous increase in farm performance. System models can help prioritise policy interventions. Formal optimization of land use is only appropriate if the policy goals are clear, and the constraints understood. In practice, the best approach may depend on the scale of action that is required, and on the amount of resource and infrastructure available to generate, implement and manage policy.     

基于利益相关者理论的公共图书馆社会责任与社会职能重构

利益相关者理论为公共图书馆社会责任与社会职能重构提供了新的思路和方法。文章分析了公共图书馆的利益相关者构成;阐述了公共图书馆社会责任与社会职能内容,即行政组织管理、服务用户、培养馆员与参与社区活动;进一步分析了公共图书馆各利益相关者的权益需求,分为核心层、紧密层与延伸层三个层级;最后笔者提出了利益相关者理论下的公共图书馆社会责任与社会职能重构策略,即加强与利益相关者之间的合作、兼顾图书馆的管理和发展、积极开展广泛的馆际协作。以期推动公共图书馆更好地践行社会责任与发挥社会职能。     

法治进程中的纠纷解决机制与和谐社会建设

和谐社会是人类追求的理想目标,其特质具有多样性,表现为经济、政治、文化、社会生活等领域的协调一致和可持续发展。而现阶段的利益纷争始终是伴随着社会进步而不断变化的,构建与诉讼相统一的多元化纠纷解决机制,通过多种途径规制各种利益主体间的矛盾,从而推进社会主义和谐社会建设。     

Policies designed for self-interested citizens may undermine "the moral sentiments": evidence from economic experiments

High-performance organizations and economies work on the basis not only of material interests but also of Adam Smith's "moral sentiments." Well-designed laws and public policies can harness self-interest for the common good. However, incentives that appeal to self-interest may fail when they undermine the moral values that lead people to act altruistically or in other public-spirited ways. Behavioral experiments reviewed here suggest that economic incentives may be counterproductive when they signal that selfishness is an appropriate response; constitute a learning environment through which over time people come to adopt more self-interested motivations; compromise the individual's sense of self-determination and thereby degrade intrinsic motivations; or convey a message of distrust, disrespect, and unfair intent. Many of these unintended effects of incentives occur because people act not only to acquire economic goods and services but also to constitute themselves as dignified, autonomous, and moral individuals. Good organizational and institutional design can channel the material interests for the achievement of social goals while also enhancing the contribution of the moral sentiments to the same ends.     

论青少年的道德责任教育

道德责任是人们在一定的社会关系中所应选择的道德行为和对社会及他人所承担的义务。青少年是祖国的未来,民族的希望,加强对青少年的道德责任教育意义重大。学校应成为道德责任教育的主阵地,家庭应成为道德责任教育的支撑点。     

民营企业生态伦理责任刍议

企业的生态伦理责任代表劳动者个体表达自觉自愿的行为意志.民营企业生态伦理责任的实然困境在于其组织化程度和民主程度不高,并将社会名义作为其生态伦理抉择的平衡点;它在应然意义上主要着力于加强合作建设绿色民营企业,提高企业管理者的生态伦理责任意识,引导企业员工接受并践行企业生态价值观,深化民营企业与政府在生态文明建设领域的合作.     

基于可持续发展理念的职业院校德育模式构建与实践路径探析——以北京市房山区房山职业学校为例

为解决学校教育中德育实效性、时代性与针对性等现实问题,北京市房山区房山职业学校基于可持续发展德育理念,从过去、现在、将来三个层面规划学校德育路径,实现三个阶段的链接和承递,构建传承传统文化、实践绿色教育和促进可持续发展三个相互关联的可持续发展德育体系,并依此构建塑造美、展示美和传递美的课程体系.基于北京市房山区房山职业学校的德育模式探究,总结提炼出可持续发展的德育模式经验,以期为职业院校创造优质教育提供思路和参考.     

From value to values: sustainable consumption at farmers markets

Advocates of environmental sustainability and social justice increasingly pursue their goals through the promotion of so-called “green” products such as locally grown organic produce. While many scholars support this strategy, others criticize it harshly, arguing that environmental degradation and social injustice are inherent results of capitalism and that positive social change must be achieved through collective action. This study draws upon 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork at two farmers markets located in demographically different parts of the San Francisco Bay Area to examine how market managers, vendors, and regular customers negotiate tensions between their economic strategies and environmental sustainability and social justice goals. Managers, vendors, and customers emphasize the ethical rather than financial motivations of their markets through comparisons to capitalist, industrial agriculture and through attention to perceived economic sacrifices made by market vendors. They also portray economic strategies as a pragmatic choice, pointing to failed efforts to achieve justice and sustainability through policy change as well as difficulties funding and sustaining non-profit organizations. While market managers, vendors, and customers deny any difficulties pursuing justice and sustainability through local economics, the need for vendors to sustain their livelihoods does sometimes interfere with their social justice goals. This has consequences for the function of each market.

陕北榆林防护林可持续经营评价指标体系研究

调查了榆林防护林的基本特征和经营状况,以可持续发展理论为指导,结合森林可持续经营思想,在较系统的阐述和分析的基础上,引入协调度来衡量榆林防护林是否符合可持续发展战略,并采用定量研究与定性研究相结合的方法,从社会发展指标、经济发展指标、生态功能指标、政策与技术保障指标等6个方面构建了榆林防护林可持续发展的指标体系.研究结果表明,榆林防护林可持续发展力指数为0.598,属于弱可持续发展.同时提出了实现榆林防护林强可持续发展的对策.     

专属经济区制度对我国海洋渔业的影响

本文分析了专属经济区制度的有关规定，归纳了世界各各国建立专属经济区的实践，指今后渔业管理将朝着有利于沿海国管理，不利于捕鱼国发展远洋渔业的发展，文章根据我国近海渔业和远洋渔业发展的实际状况。分析了由于周边国家和其他国家建立专属经济对我国海洋渔业生产的影响，提出为了适应专属经济区制度，我国渔业管理应该注意的几个方面：（１）加强科学研究；（２）加强对外国渔船的管理；９３）加强邻国在一管理方面的合作；９     

不纯正不作为犯之共犯问题研究

凡具有共同作为义务的二人以上者,互相联络犯罪意思,进行违反其作为义务的不作为时,即为存在共同实行,能够成立不作为的共同实行犯。不作为的片面帮助犯罪非无一例外的排除在刑法的规制之外,当不作为同时构成违反特定职务或业务上之罪的正犯时,可按该罪的正犯处罚。     

伊春林区森林可持续经营效果评价

通过调查森林资源情况以及地区的经济、社会状况,从生态效益、社会效益、经济效益3个方面提出伊春林区森林可持续经营评价指标体系;应用层次分析法和加权平均法对伊春林区森林可持续经营状况进行评价,分析影响其可持续经营的制约性因素。结果表明:伊春林区森林可持续经营综合评价指数为0.892,说明伊春林区森林资源可持续经营状况总体上处于可持续发展状态。从社会、生态、经济3个子系统的可持续发展状况分析发现,社会可持续性指数最高(0.981),生态可持续性指数为0.905,2个子系统均处于完全可持续发展状态;经济可持续性指数为0.808,略低于其他2个子系统,处于可持续发展状态。目前影响伊春林区森林可持续经营的主要问题包括:森林植被物种多样性较低;树种的组成比较单一,尤其是人工林中大部分是人工纯林;森林龄级结构不合理,大部分是幼中龄林,成过熟林面积蓄积都偏少;森林质量低;林地生产力退化;旅游收入偏低,与伊春林区丰富的旅游资源不对称;经济发展模式单一,经济发展缓慢;产业结构不合理。     

专属经济区制度对我国海洋渔业的影响

本文分析了专属经济区制度的有关规定，归纳了世界各各国建立专属经济区的实践，指今后渔业管理将朝着有利于沿海国管理，不利于捕鱼国发展远洋渔业的发展，文章根据我国近海渔业和远洋渔业发展的实际状况。分析了由于周边国家和其他国家建立专属经济对我国海洋渔业生产的影响，提出为了适应专属经济区制度，我国渔业管理应该注意的几个方面：（１）加强科学研究；（２）加强对外国渔船的管理；９３）加强邻国在一管理方面的合作；９