European restructuring and changing agricultural policies. Rural self-identity and modes of life in late modernity

The main idea of this article is to present various perspectives in order to analyze the recent crisis concerning the agriculture-based rural societies in the developed capitalist communities. In all of these countries there is a production crisis, resulting in too much food. But this is also an ideological crisis, because the consumer thinks that the food is produced at too high a price. And it is a political crisis as well because a major part of the voters think subsidies and trade barriers are too high. The paper argues that beneath the present agricultural and rural policy crisis lies the failure of three great projects of our time: 1) The project of natural science; 2) The project of liberal capitalism; and 3) The project of scientific socialism. The failure of these three projects has to do with the breakdown of the positivist idea of modernization. Modernization theory was partly wrong because it overlooked the persistence of locally based life modes. Those life modes must be understood before a sustainable rural development is found. The article reviews some contemporary social science perspectives that have recently been developed to grasp the fundamental changes of today's rural societies. Based on those perspectives and primarily the life mode perspective, five key elements that are essential to analyze if we want to understand future development are isolated: food production, resources, space, social diversity, and culture.Reidar Almås is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Trondheim, Norway, where he directs the Center for Rural Research. He received his Dr. philos. at the University of Trondheim with a dissertation on group farms. Almås is now doing research on food policies, rural development, and public perception of biotechnology. In addition to several books in Norwegian, he has publishedRural Norway, a gift to Europe. Fifteen selected articles on rural persistence and change.     

Synthetic biology: regulating industry uses of new biotechnologies

In our view, synthetic biology is an extension of the continuum of genetic science that has been used safely for more than 40 years by the biotechnology industry in the development of commercial products. Examples of synthetic biology use by biotechnology companies illustrate the potential to substantially reduce research and development time and to increase speed to market. Improvements in the speed and cost of DNA synthesis are enabling scientists to design modified bacterial chromosomes that can be used in the production of renewable chemicals, biofuels, bioproducts, renewable specialty chemicals, pharmaceutical intermediates, fine chemicals, food ingredients, and health care products. Regulatory options should support innovation and commercial development of new products while protecting the public from potential harms.     

Biotechnology and the environment: What is at risk?

This paper argues that the new biotechnologies will affect the natural environment primarily in two ways: by bringing relatively wild areas, such as forests and estuaries, under domestication, and by forcing areas now domesticated, such as farms, out of production, because of surpluses. The problem of the safety of biotechnology—the risk of some inadvertent side-effect—seems almost trivial in relation to the social and economic implications of these intentional uses. The paper proposes that we should be more concerned about the successful uses of biotechnology than about the possible mishaps or failures.Mark Sagoff is Senior Research Associate and Acting Director of the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at the University of Maryland. His book,The Economy of the Earth: Philosophy, Law and the Environment (Cambridge University Press, 1988), deals with normative and conceptual issues in environmental law. Sagoff's work in ethical issues in biotechnology has received support from the National Science Foundation.     

Biotechnology in pharmaceuticals: the Japanese challenge

The products of biotechnology are being developed for new diagnostics and therapeutics, and it is predicted that they will have great impact on the pharmaceutical industry. In the United States, pharmaceutical companies are incorporating biotechnology into their research and development programs, often with the contractual assistance of small biotechnology firms. Their strongest competition is arising in Japan, where there are now concerted government and industry efforts to expand biotechnology capabilities and to optimize commercialization. Strategies used by the United States and Japan to incorporate biotechnology into their pharmaceutical industries are examined and compared.     

Antagonistic Synergy: Process and Paradox in the Development of New Agricultural Antimicrobial Regulations

There is currently great controversy over the contribution antimicrobial use in animal agriculture has made to antimicrobial resistance in pathogenic bacteria with negative consequences for human health. In light of this, the approval process for antimicrobials used in US animal agriculture, known as New Animal Drug Application or NADA, is currently being revised by the federal government. We explore the public deliberations over the development of these new policies focusing our attention on the interaction between pharmaceutical companies and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. What appears to be an antagonistic public discourse is examined in terms of its ability to simultaneously legitimate the roles of the Food and Drug Administration as the official arbiter of policy on antimicrobial use in animal agriculture and as a protector of the public welfare, as well as the role of pharmaceutical companies as the producers of safe and effective products necessary for the protection of public well-being. Wesley R. Dean is an Assistant Research Scientist in the Institute for Science, Technology and Public Policy at Texas A & M University. His PhD is in Sociology from the University of Alberta where he wrote a dissertation on the Canadian HIV-tainted blood scandal. He is currently engaged in research on USDA-CSREES National Integrated Food Safety Initiative, a project to systematically characterize antimicrobial decision-making in US animal agriculture. H. Morgan Scott earned a DVM from the University of Saskatchewan and a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Guelph. He is an assistant professor at Texas A&M University in the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences. He is currently conducting epidemiological research on the transference of resistant genes from swine to human host populations and he is the principal investigator on the USDA-CSREES National Integrated Food Safety Initiative.     

Biotechnology in europe

The countries of the European Economic Community have recently mounted considerable efforts to commercialize biotechnology. Together, these efforts approach the same number of companies and level of government spending as those in the United States. In Europe there is more government emphasis on support for industry-university collaborations and industrial projects than in the United States, where basic research is emphasized. European efforts are often not easily delineated from those in the United States; many European companies have extensive U.S. operations and many U.S. companies have involvement in Europe. Strategies and efforts in European biotechnology are examined and compared to those in the United States.     

Ideology and agricultural technology in the late twentieth century: Biotechnology as symbol and substance

The significance of biotechnology in agriculture during the late twentieth century has been as much in the realm of symbol and ideology as in its political economy. The ideological roots of biotechnology are long historical ones. The ideology of productivism, which was codified during mid-century out of a coincidence of interest among experiment stations, USDA, Congress, agribusiness, and agricultural commodity groups, has encountered numerous challenges since the 1970s. One of the major responses to the crisis of productionism was to forge a social definition of biotechnology as being a revolutionary technology. I conclude by discussing whether biotechnology, as both symbol and substance, is likely to be a basis for attempts to resuscitate productivism in the 1990s now that biotechnology is being demystified, its limits being appreciated, and its opposition still considerable.Frederick H. Buttel is Professor of Rural Sociology and Director of the Agricultural Technology and Family Farm Institute at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His major areas of interest are the sociology of science, sociology of agriculture, and environmental sociology. Prior to joining the University of Wisconsin faculty, he was Professor of Rural Sociology and Science and Technology Studies at Cornell University. In 1987 he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. During 1990–91 he served as President of the Rural Sociological Society, and from 1989–92 he served as a member of the Council of the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society.     

Against the neoliberal steamroller? The Biosafety Protocol and the social regulation of agricultural biotechnologies

Through a discursive and organizational analysis we seek to understand the Biosafety Protocol and the place of socioeconomic regulation of agricultural biotechnology in it. The literature on the Protocol has been fairly extensive, but little of it has explored debates over socioeconomic regulation during the negotiation process or the regulatory requirements specified in the final document. This case is especially important at a time when the spread of neoliberalism is increasingly associated with deregulation, because it sheds light on the conditions under which circumvention of the market is deemed legitimate and socio-economic regulation of agricultural technology is possible. Daniel Lee Kleinman is a professor in the Department of Rural Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he is also affiliated with the Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies and the Integrated Liberal Studies Program. He is the author and editor of a number of books, including Impure Cultures: University Biology and the World of Commerce (2003). Abby J. Kinchy is a PhD candidate in the Departments of Sociology and Rural Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her current research examines the controversies surrounding the genetic “contamination” of Mexican maize and Canadian canola.     

Eating Right Here: Moving from Consumer to Food Citizen

The term food citizenship is defined as the practice of engaging in food-related behaviors that support, rather than threaten, the development of a democratic, socially and economically just, and environmentally sustainable food system. Ways to practice food citizenship are described and a role for universities in fostering food citizenship is suggested. Finally, four barriers to food citizenship are identified and described: the current food system, federal food and agriculture policy, local and institutional policies, and the culture of professional nutrition organizations. Jennifer L. Wilkins is a Senior Extension Associate in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University and currently a Kellogg Food and Society Fellow. Her extension and applied research focuses on community food systems, regional dietary guidance, and farm to school connections.     

管理者过度自信对公司创新的影响研究

大量研究表明管理者过度自信给公司带来不利影响.使用2003-2018年中国沪深A股上市公司的大样本,该文却发现管理者过度自信促进了上市公司的创新.①管理者过度自信促使上市公司研发投入更多;②管理者过度自信增加了上市公司的研发产出(表现为获得更多发明专利数目);③管理者过度自信提高了上市公司的研发效率.此外,管理者过度自信对创新的正面效应在私营企业显著比国有企业强.     

Contextualizing farmers’ attitudes towards genetically modified crops

Analyses of the role of technological development in agriculture are central to an understanding of social change in agri-food systems. The objective of this paper is to contribute to the formation of a broader perspective of how farmers are positioning themselves with respect to controversial agricultural technologies through an empirical analysis of Washington State farmers’ willingness or unwillingness to try Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) technology on their farms. The use of this type of biotechnology in farming has been criticized for its potential harmful effects on natural environments and socio-cultural systems, while proponents highlight the possibilities for increasing production with minimal use of other inputs. An analysis of the extent of farmers’ expressed willingness to use GMOs provides an opportunity to better understand how their diverse thoughts about controversial agricultural technologies are shaped not only by their own experiences but also by social context. The present study does this by analyzing data from a farm survey conducted on a random sample of farmers from across Washington State. The results show that the production practices farmers utilize and the market strategies they employ may be at least as useful as farmers’ socio-economic characteristics in explaining what types of farmers appear to be more or less interested in potentially using this technology. Furthermore, the relationship between level of formal education and willingness to use GMOs is not straightforward. It may hide differences between farmers with respect to where and how they received their formal education as well as the type(s) of knowledge they gained. It is argued that future research should recognize the diversity that exists in farmers’ interests vis-á-vis particular technologies and should also explore how these interests are shaped by farmers’ past and present social networks and life experiences. Kazumi Kondoh is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at Washington State University. Her research interests include environmental policies, science and technology, and sustainable agriculture. Raymond Jussaume is an Professor and Chair, Community and Rural Sociology at Washington State University. His primary areas of interest are sociology of agriculture, development sociology, and political sociology.     

Industrial support of university research in biotechnology

A 1984 study of biotechnology companies reveals that nearly one-half of all such firms fund research in universities. Industry may support as much as one-quarter of all biotechnology research in institutions of higher education. These investments seem to be yielding substantial benefits to involved firms. Per dollar invested, university research is generating more patent applications than is other company research. Research relationships do pose some risks to traditional university values such as openness of communication among scholars. These risks may be greater in relationships involving small firms. The data also reveal that government is now, and seems likely to remain, the principal source of support for university research in biotechnology.     

Assessing the Human Genome Project: Effects on world agriculture

The Human Genome Project is the attempt to sequence the complement of human DNA. Its ultimate purpose is to understand and control human genetics. The social and ethical concerns raised by this attempt have been much debated, especially fears concerning human genetic engineering and eugenics. An almost completely neglected aspect of the genome project's potential effects is its impact on world agriculture. The Human Genome Project will provide source information to transform commercially and therapeutically valuable segments of the human genetic code into agricultural products using the newly extant technologies of gene farming. This application of developing genomic technologies has at least two foreseeable effects: 1) Transforming global agricultural markets and ecologies, raising possibilities of novel forms of neocolonialism and the further destruction of genetic diversity; and 2) transforming world health and society through new modes of pharmaceutical production and the unregulated expansion of medical access to novel and traditional therapeutics.Mark Lesney received his Ph. D. in plant pathology and has worked as an assistant professor of biotechnology research at the University of Florida. He is currently affiliated with the program in History of Science at the University of Florida, where he is studying the emergence of biotechnology research.     

台湾农业生物技术产业发展现状与经验

台湾农业生物技术产业经过20多年的发展,已取得良好成效,动物疫苗和植物种苗产品已处于成熟期,技术成熟度高,生物性肥料和生物性农药产业正处于快速发展阶段。其经验在于当局制定了农业生技产业的奖励措施,并利用农业生技园区促进生技产业聚落效应,同时也辅导民间产业投入农业生物技术研发,且强化知识产权保护,推动农业知识经济化。     

技术性贸易措施对中国新疆出口农产品的影响分析

近年来,由于技术性贸易措施具有灵活性和隐蔽性的特点,进口国开始通过使用技术性贸易措施对进口产品执行严格标准,导致技术性贸易措施已成为仅次于汇率、关税的第三大贸易障碍,影响中国产品出口,而中国新疆农产品由于出口市场较集中,经济技术发展程度不高,更容易受到其负面影响,使出口企业蒙受损失,中国新疆农产品贸易受阻。本文基于中国新疆农产品出口贸易现状,对中国新疆出口农产品遭遇技术性贸易措施情况和制约原因进行分析,由此针对中国新疆出口农产品提出有效对策建议。     

优质蛋白玉米发展回顾与前景展望

优质蛋白玉米(QPM)是过去植物育种领域中取得最意想不到的成就之一,它的赖氨酸和色氨酸含量比普通玉米高,从而改善玉米蛋白质品质,因此其营养价值优于普通玉米。文章回顾了优质蛋白玉米的发展历史以及中国优质蛋白玉米研究的发展历程,提出政府支持,重视科技投入,加强研究力度,实施多学科合作尤其是现代生物技术的引进利用,加强种质资源创新与利用研究,把普通玉米自交系和杂种优势群转育为优质蛋白玉米资源,挖掘新的种质源,探索新的检测方法和应用领域,形成科研——种植——加工业——养殖业产业链联合开发是中国优质蛋白玉米研究的发展方向。     

生物技术在百合上的应用

对生物技术在百合 (Liliumspp .)上的应用研究进展进行了综述 .生物技术在百合上的应用主要包括以下几个方面 :利用植物离体培养技术成功建立了百合快速繁殖体系和脱毒苗生产技术程序 ;利用胚胎拯救技术克服了百合杂交前后障碍获得百合新品种 ;蛋白质分子标记、DNA分子标记在百合的初步应用 ;通过农杆菌介导法、基因枪法、电激法等进行了百合的遗传转化 ,并通过基因枪法成功地获得了百合转基因的植株 .     

Is risk regulation a strategic influence on decision making in the biotechnology industry?

This paper discusses strategic decision making in firms pursuing biotechnology innovation and the influence of risk regulation on firm strategy. Data from three research projects, involving interviews with over 60 managers from agricultural and food related biotechnology companies and also over 60 key participants in the regulatory process in the UK and EC, shows a diversity of strategy and opinion. While some industry representatives identified new risk regulations governing the release of genetically manipulated organisms (GMOs) as the primary constraint on biotechnology innovation, the findings of the study painted a more complex picture. The controversies surrounding the issue of risk regulation and its impact on innovation are best understood if viewed in the context of other political and economic factors. We conclude that the actual impact of risk regulation on industry strategies is probably less than the rhetoric of industry lobbyists would suggest. At the same time, the very act of lobbying so forcefully could lead to a public backlash against industry that would be much more damaging than the regulation itself.     

生物技术在我国现代产业中的应用现状研究

随着全球经济的迅速发展,石化资源消耗殆尽,生态环境受到破坏。生物技术产业以其科技含量高、低污染、能源消耗低等特点,已成为各国竞争的战略重点。文中总结了生物技术在我国现代农业、工业、环境产业中的应用现状,展望了生物技术产业的应用前景,以期为我国生物技术产业的可持续发展提供借鉴。     

Fruit and vegetable access in four low-income food deserts communities in Minnesota

Access to fruits and vegetables by low-income residents living in selected urban and rural Minnesotan communities was investigated. Communities were selected based on higher than state average poverty rates, limited access to grocery stores, and urban influence codes (USDA ERS codes). Four communities, two urban and two rural, were selected. Data were gathered from focus group discussions (n = 41), responses to a consumer survey (n = 396 in urban neighborhoods and n = 400 in rural communities), and an inventory of foodstuffs available at stores located in all the communities and at large grocery stores in neighborhoods adjacent to the urban communities. In the two urban neighborhoods, a significant number of foods (26% and 52%) were significantly more expensive than the Thrifty Food Plan’s (TFP) market basket price (MBP). Additionally, a significant number of foods in the two rural communities were more expensive (11% and 26%). In focus groups, participants identified major barriers to shopping in their community to be cost, quality of food, and food choice limitations. Results of the food inventory show that foods within the communities were costly, of fair or poor quality, and limited in number and type available, supporting complaints verbalized by focus group participants. Through focus groups and surveys, participants expressed concern that healthy food choices were not affordable within their communities and believed that people in their community suffered from food insecurity. The absence of quality, affordable food for low-income residents in these four Minnesota communities prevents or diminishes their ability to choose foods that help maintain a healthy lifestyle. Deja Hendrickson is currently a graduate student at the University of California and working towards obtaining her MS in nutrition in order to become a registered dietitian. Chery Smith, PhD, MPH, RD, is an associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota with research interests in the dietary behavior of low-income and homeless people, community and international nutrition, and food systems. Nicole Eikenberry is a Registered Dietitian and recently completed her MS in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota, with primary research emphasis on food access and food choice for low-income Minnesotan adults.