Is it economically feasible to harvest by management zone?

The economics of harvesting wheat based on input management zones in the northern wheatbelt of Western Australia was studied using a simulated field of regular dimensions with varying zone sizes and layouts. Fertilizer application rates and crop yield and quality data from field trials of input management were used to estimate the gross crop revenue and harvesting costs from the different field layouts and zone combinations. As a general observation there was no consistency in the results; harvesting by zone generated more gross income in some combinations of field layout and yield quantity scenarios, but not in others. However, there were key factors in determining whether it was profitable to harvest by zone. These were prior knowledge of the potential yield and quality characteristics of grain from each zone in a field, and the layout of zones within a field.     

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.

Engagement for transformation: Value webs for local food system development

Engagement happens when academics and non-academics form partnerships to create mutual understanding, and then take action together. An example is the “value web” work associated with W. K. Kellogg Foundation’s Food Systems Higher Education–Community Partnership. Partners nationally work on local food systems development by building value webs. “Value chains,” a concept with considerable currency in the private sector, involves creating non-hierarchical relationships among otherwise disparate actors and entities to achieve collective common goals. The value web concept is extended herein by separating the values of the web itself, such as the value of collaboration, from values “in” the web, such as credence values associated with a product or service. By sharing and discussing case examples of work underway around the United States, the authors make a case for employing the value webs concept to represent a strategy for local food systems development, specifically, and for higher education–community partnerships, generally.

Social-ethical issues concerning the control strategy of animal diseases in the European Union: A survey

In 2004 a survey was conducted in the member states of the European Union designed to gain greater insight into the views on control strategies for foot and mouth disease, classical swine fever, and avian influenza with respect to the epidemiological, economic and social-ethical consequences of each of these animal diseases. This article presents the results of the social-ethical survey. A selection of stakeholders from each member state was asked to prioritize issues for the prevention and control of these diseases. A majority of stakeholders chose preventive measures as the preferred issue. An analysis was done to determine whether there were differences in views expressed by stakeholders from member states with a history of recent epidemics and ones without such a history, and whether there were regional differences. There were no differences between member states with or without a history of recent epidemics. There were indeed regional differences between the priority orders from Northern and Southern Europe on the one hand, and from Eastern Europe on the other. Nina E. Cohen is a biologist and is a researcher at the Wageningen University. She is specialized in societal and ethical issues in human–animal relationships. Her current research is focused on the social-ethical issues concerning the prevention and control of foot and mouth disease, classical swine fever and avian influenza. Marcel A.P.M. van Asseldonk has studied animal science. Currently he works at the Institute for Risk Management in Agriculture (IRMA) of the Wageningen University. He is specialized in the design and pricing of insurance policies and animal health funds for the main livestock epidemics. Elsbeth N. Stassen is a veterinarian and professor of Animals and Society at the Wageningen University. Elsbeth Stassen is specialized in animal health, animal welfare and human–animal relationships. She was a member of a governmental welfare committee during the avian influenza epidemic in the Netherlands in 2003.     

The political ecology of dietary transitions: Changing production and consumption patterns in the Kolli Hills,India

Using a case study from the Kolli Hills, India, I suggest that political ecology provides a useful theoretical basis for considering localized dietary transitions in rural, agricultural communities in developing countries. By examining the reasons for the near-disappearance of local minor millets as staple foods in three small-farmer communities, I argue that an explicit, actor-oriented analysis allows for an integration of food issues with considerations of environmental circumstances, local aspirations, and labor concerns. That is, an agricultural shift that abandons minor millets as a food resource reflects environmental changes and household economic aspirations. Such an analysis has implications for the creation of practical food security projects through the recognition and incorporation of small-farmer experiences, voices, and priorities. This research was undertaken through ethnographic fieldwork, using semi-structured interviews and participant observation as the primary methods. Elizabeth Finnis obtained her PhD from McMaster University in Canada and is currently a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Anthropology and the Centre for Society, Technology, and Development at McGill University.