Showing papers in "Agriculture and Human Values in 1989"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss socio-political, institutional, and ethical issues that need to be considered in order to understand the actual limitations and contributions of such knowledge systems, and suggest the need to recognize its unique values yet avoid romanticized views of its potential.
Abstract: Increasing attention has been given to “indigenous” knowledge in Third World rural societies as a potential basis for sustainable agricultural development. It has been found that many people have functional knowledge systems pertaining to their resources and environment, which are based on experience and experimentation, and which are sometimes based on unique epistemologies. Efforts have been made to include such knowledge in participatory research and projects. This paper discusses socio-political, institutional, and ethical issues that need to be considered in order to understand the actual limitations and contributions of such knowledge systems. It reviews the nature of local knowledge and suggests the need to recognize its unique values yet avoid romanticized views of its potential. Local knowledge and alternative bottom-up projects continue to be marginalized because of the dominance of conventional top-down Ra instead, people need to establish legitimacy of their knowledge for themselves, as a form of empowerment.
178 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the implications of the gaps in farmer knowledge are discussed in terms of the sustainable agriculture movement, and it is shown that farmers know more about plants, less about insects, and less still about plant pathology.
Abstract: Traditional Central American peasant farmers know more about some aspects of the local agroecosystem than about others. In general farmers know more about plants, less about insects, and less still about plant pathology. Without discounting economic factors, ease of observability must explain part of this difference. Certain local beliefs may affect what farmers observe and know. For example, a belief in spontaneous generation may lead people to fail to observe insect reproduction. The implications of the gaps in farmer knowledge are discussed in terms of the sustainable agriculture movement.
129 citations
TL;DR: An overview of definitions, topics, and applications of local knowledge in agricultural research, development, and extension (RD&E) can be found in this article, with caveats on future research and training needs, and human values issues related to the study and utilization of local Knowledge systems and their products.
Abstract: Local knowledge (both technological and sociological) and communication systems represent a logical starting point and a rich body of resources for successful agricultural research, development, and extension (RD&E). Drawing upon concrete examples from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, this essay presents an overview of definitions, topics, and applications of local knowledge in agricultural RD&E. Also noted are caveats, future research and training needs, and human values issues related to the study and utilization of local knowledge systems and their products.
64 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the impact of the cognitive revolution on models of farmer decision making is described, and decision making models before and after the Cognitive revolution are contrasted. But the importance of cognitive science to research on farmer decision-making, especially of the type “Why don't they adopt,” is not yet accepted wisdom.
Abstract: Increasingly, it is accepted wisdom for agricultural scientists to get feedback from indigenous peoples—peasants—about new improved seeds and biotechnologies before their official release from the experiment station. What is not yet accepted wisdom is the importance of cognitive science to research on farmer decision making, especially of the type “Why don't they adopt.” In this paper, the impact of the cognitive revolution on models of farmer decision making is described, and decision making models before and after the cognitive revolution are contrasted. An example of a decision model after the cognitive revolution is given by the Malawi farmer's decision whether to use chemical fertilizers or organic fertilizers or both. Results of testing the model show that in Malawi, smallholders' lack of capital and credit are more important factors constraining use of chemical fertilizers than are indigenous beliefs in organic fertilizers or fears of a future dependency on chemicals.
32 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a cognitive mapping technique, called a Galileo, was used to measure people's views of soil and its relation to people among three Indonesian ethnic groups living in the same area.
Abstract: This paper has two purposes: To report the findings of a study of ethnic differences in cognition in a rural West Sumatran area; and to demonstrate the importance of ethnicity—in at least some contexts—for tailoring agricultural research to farmers' needs. A cognitive mapping technique, called a Galileo, was used to measure people's views of soil and its relation to people among three Indonesian ethnic groups living in the same area. Findings from participant observation and from collaborative agricultural fieldwork with farmers of all three ethnic groups are used to evaluate and interpret the Galileo results.
23 citations
TL;DR: In the last decade the systems approach to agricultural research has begun to subsume the older reductionist approaches as discussed by the authors, and it is possible to consider them as involving the manipulation of things, the reconstruction of institutions, and the reformulation of policies in accordance with democratic goals and objectives as part of a single web of interrelationships.
Abstract: In the last decade the systems approach to agricultural research has begun to subsume the older reductionist approaches. However, proponents of the systems approach often accept without critical examination a number of features that were inherited from previously accepted approaches. In particular, supporters of the systems approach frequently ignore the ironies and tragedies that are a part of all human endeavors. They may also fail to consider that all actual systems are temporally and spatially bounded. By incorporating such features into a systems perspective, it becomes possible to consider them as involving the manipulation of things, the reconstruction of institutions, and the reformulation of policies in accordance with democratic goals and objectives as part of a single web of interrelationships.
20 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the two most important interrelated processes of social change in Italian agriculture: first the increasing productive specialization of family farming, both full and part-time, lending to the persistence of small farms but also to their growing integration and complementarity with other economic activities.
Abstract: In this paper the authors analyze the two most important interrelated processes of social change in Italian agriculture: first the increasing productive specialization of family farming, both full and part-time, lending to the persistence of small farms but also to their growing integration and complementarity with other economic activities; and second the increasing heterogeneity of agricultural workers accompanied by the destructuring of their strong working-class identity, which had matured in the previous decades. This identity, however, also reflected a deep separation between agricultural laborers, their labor market and institutions, and the rest of the working class. The authors argue that these changes are progressively contributing to the full integration of agricultural social relations within an increasingly complex society. The analysis of these two processes in recent Italian experience shows that this trend towards integration differs totally from the hypothesis often advanced in the past according to which the integration of agriculture would occur through the development of green factories, more and more similar to large Fordist manufacturing plants. On the contrary, at least in present-day Italy, integration means increasing heterogeneity, also of organizational patterns in manufacturing, and growing inter-dependence.
10 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the dimensions of ethical concerns for topics area (agricultural) journalists as defined by practitioners and found that agricultural communicators overwhelmingly focus on one specific threat to objectivity, advertising pressure.
Abstract: The agricultural communicator is a key link in transmitting information to farmers. If agricultural communicators' ethics are compromised, the resulting biases in news production could have serious detrimental effects on the quality of information conveyed to farmers. But, to date, agricultural communicators' perceptions of ethical problems they encounter at work has not been examined. This study looks at the dimensions of ethical concerns for topics area (agricultural) journalists as defined by practitioners. To determine these dimensions, we sent open ended questionnaires (50 percent response rate) to members of two professional agricultural journalist associations: the Newspaper Farm Editors of America and the American Agricultural Editors' Association. Agricultural communicators overwhelmingly focus on one specific threat to objectivity—advertising pressure. Both NFEA and AAEA respondents indicated that agricultural journalists' responses to advertising pressure adversely affected the entire profession. The responses indicated that agricultural writers were concerned with the different types of pressures and the effects of advertising pressure on the industry as a whole. NFEA and AAEA respondents mentioned both indirect pressure, “freebies,” conferences, trips and press releases from advertising or public relations sections of agri-business firms, and direct pressures from advertisers, salesmen and publishers. The respondents were clearly more comfortable when newspaper policy protected them from advertising pressure and when they had techniques to reduce this pressure. The editors' and reporters' perceptions of advertising pressure clearly indicates that advertising abuses are a clear and present danger and one worthy of far more attention than it has previously received.
9 citations
TL;DR: The German Farmers Union (Deutscher Bauernverband) became the main representative of the farm sector and attempted to realize this goal through the promotion of commodity price support policies as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Family farming became a major social force in the Federal Republic following World War II. Several political, economic and social factors facilitated the development of a unified political representation within the farm sector. The German Farmers Union (Deutscher Bauernverband) became the main representative of the farm sector. Its platform included the preservation of family farms and it attempted to realize this goal through the promotion of commodity price support policies. Political support for these programs was legitimized with the elaboration of a system of values espousing the positive qualities of family farms. Price support policies were opposed by free market advocates with an alternative system of values that fundamentally contradicted those of family farm advocates. Although commodity price supports promoted by partisans of family farming dominated agricultural policy formation in the 1950s and 1960s, fiscal crisis in the EEC and economic differentation within the farm sector began to undermine the position of family farming as a social force. But economic stagnation also prevented the free market position from gaining dominance. Economic differentiation within the farm sector has had an important regional dimension, and this has served as a basis for policy compromise. Economic changes over the post-WWII period have undermined the family farm as a social force. Nevertheless, values associated with family farming continue to have a place in agricultural policy. However, family farming is valued less as an end in itself, and more as a means to the realization of more practical ends such as the preservation of rural landscapes for recreational purposes.
8 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an analytical panorama of agriculture in the European context is provided as a background for reading the articles contained in this issue of Agriculture and Human Values, which are summarized in the concluding part of the present contribution.
Abstract: This paper provides an analytical panorama of agriculture in the European context to be employed as a background for reading the articles contained in this issue of Agriculture and Human Values. Brief summaries of their contents constitute the concluding part of the present contribution.
8 citations
TL;DR: In such situations where it is not possible to identify a middle ground between conflicting positions, the best a policy analyst may be able to do is to accentuate the issue's manifest topsy-turviness and uncertainties.
Abstract: Animal rights and experimentation have become the focus of a major controversy in the United States, with acute implications for animal-related research in the laboratories and veterinary schools of many American universities. To date, efforts to reduce fundamental disagreements between animal researchers and animal welfare groups or to redefine their differences in ways that satisfy all concerned have by and large not been successful. In such situations where it is not possible to identify a middle ground between conflicting positions, the best a policy analyst may be able to do is to accentuate the issue's manifest topsy-turviness and uncertainties. No one can afford or risk having an issue of such high uncertainty, inconsistency, and stakes defined in terms so stark that they feel compelled to choose between those who say they know that the future shall hold us accountable for our wholesale slaughter of animals and those who would blame us for the human deaths they say will surely follow when we do not allow that slaughter.
TL;DR: The Norwegian case is explored in this paper as an example of a blend of social-democratic and center-populist agricultural policies, where income equalization and a farm relief service were the most important.
Abstract: This article raises the issue of the extent to which a single nation can develop a “national agricultural policy,” pursuing internal goals in agrarian development, goals that vary significantly from those of other industrialized countries. What are the conflicts arising from such a policy and how do these conflicts interfere with the general agricultural crisis of these countries? The Norwegian case is explored as an example of a blend of social-democratic and center-populist agricultural policies. The decision in 1975 by the Norwegian Parliament to establish the income level of farmers at the same level as workers is seen as an experiment. As agricultural policy, this new departure represented a deviation from the earlier policies of rationalization. The Social Democrats developed their new position as a result of internal and external pressure. A series of reforms financed by the new state incomes from oil production were undertaken, of which income equalization and a farm relief service were the most important. Most Norwegian farmers speak of the reform years as “the good years of escalation.” Equity was reached in 1982, but nevertheless several problems emerged: 1) the escalation of subsidized incomes led to overproduction and decreasing incomes from the market (after 1982), 2) the large budgetary transfers to agriculture caused a legitimation crisis, fueling the constituency of the right-wing Progress Party, 3) the large subsidies to agriculture contributed to the fiscal crisis of the state, 4) the problems mentioned above, contributed to the general crisis of the Norwegian Social Democracy which finds itself with dwindling support. The likely outcome of the present Norwegian farm crisis is the implementation of an agricultural policy that will protect the most vulnerable sector and open the more competitive sector to market forces.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the crisis of Portugal's agriculture and the challenges connected with Portugal's integration into the European Economic Community (EEC) and provided an historical overview of the economic and social development of the agricultural sector since the 1950s.
Abstract: The paper investigates the crisis of Portugese agriculture and the challenges connected with Portugal's integration into the European Economic Community (EEC). An historical overview of the economic and social development of the agricultural sector since the 1950s is provided. Additionally, a discussion of the principal differences between the Portugese agricultural crisis and that of other advanced European countries and the U.S. is carried out. In this portion of the paper it is argued that agriculture in Portugal is characterized by low levels of productivity and production which contrast with the high levels of productivity and overproduction of other European and North American countries. Finally, an analysis of the possible future consequences of Portugal's further integration into the EEC is provided.
TL;DR: The uses of the most "social" of the social sciences (sociology and anthropology) in international agricultural research and development (R&D) have often been poorly understood as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The uses of the most “social” of the social sciences—sociology and anthropology—in international agricultural research and development (R&D) have often been poorly understood. Drawing upon a decade of work by the Sociology Project of the Small Ruminant Collaborative Research Support Program, this article exemplifies how and where social scientists can and have contributed to major development initiatives, and it illustrates some of the larger lessons to be learned for human values concerns in international agriculture.
TL;DR: According to a report published by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), a nonpartisan analytical support agency of the U S Congress, one promising way to help African farmers and herders would be for development assistance organizations to focus more attention on the various forms of low-resource agriculture that predominate in Africa.
Abstract: Traditional forms of farming, herding, and fishing are remarkably adapted to African conditions but these traditional approaches are being overtaken by modern pressures, particularly population growth According to a report published by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), a nonpartisan analytical support agency of the U S Congress, one promising way to help African farmers and herders would be for development assistance organizations to focus more attention on the various forms of low-resource agriculture that predominate in Africa
TL;DR: The French farming community represented over 50% of the total working population at the beginning of this century, but their number will soon drop below the fateful 5% threshold as discussed by the authors, at a time when they see themselves as a minority, the farmers of France have become the world's second largest exporters of agricultural produce.
Abstract: At a time when the long-established pattern of rural emigration in France is going into reverse, the number of French farmers is falling steeply. Whereas the French farming community represented over 50% of the total working population at the beginning of this century, their number will soon drop below the fateful 5% threshold. At a time when they see themselves (and are seen by others) as a minority, the farmers of France have become the world's second largest exporters of agricultural produce—yet they continue to glut the market with excess output and their income is steadily decreasing. Political reactions to these far-reaching changes are inadequate to meet the situation, and the unions are responding with internal strife and divisions. Faced with a radically new situation which is largely dominated by external factors, the government and the unions are quite unable to rebuild French farming policy.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the political economy of agriculture and agricultural policy in the European Community and conclude that conflicts between national political objectives and broader, community-wide concerns are important factors in the performance of EC agriculture.
Abstract: The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Community (EC) has been criticized for causing a misallocation of resources, inequitable income transfers, and enormous budgetary costs. The purpose of this paper is to examine the political economy of agriculture and agricultural policy in the EC. The results of the analysis indicate that conflicts between national political objectives and broader, community-wide concerns are important factors in the performance of EC agriculture. The pressures for reform of the CAP will lead to modification of the system, but changes in EC agricultural policy are likely to be moderate because of the inherent inertia of the policy-making process. As a result, the agricultural system in the EC will probably continue to evolve in an atmosphere of crisis with most reforms directed at symptoms rather than fundamental problems.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the only way to impact agriculture in the Third World is by increasing the intensity of land use in high potential agricultural areas, and that this is only possible by improving the access of resource-poor farmers to land, water, other natural resources, as well as to equitable credit, markets, appropriate technologies.
Abstract: International agricultural development as practiced by U. S. sponsored research groups in developing countries has emphasized technical questions of production, ignoring more fundamental social and economic issues that underline rural poverty and hunger. Rethinking the role of U. S. development assistance will require transcending the view that the only way to impact agriculture in the Third World is by increasing the intensity of land use in high potential agricultural areas. The challenge is to find ways of how to further increase agricultural productivity so that the rural poor significantly benefit, while at the same time conserving and regenerating the resource base. U. S. scientists must realize that this is only possible by improving the access of resource-poor farmers to land, water, other natural resources, as well as to equitable credit, markets, appropriate technologies, etc. Solidarious collaboration will emerge from the U. S. siding with progressive governments and/or community-based initiatives that promote political change aimed at securing farmers' control over resources and inputs, and changing the structural conditions and policies that perpetuate poverty.
TL;DR: In this paper, a general view of the forms of collective action that have taken place in Spanish agriculture during the democratic transition and that have facilitated the development of the farmers' unions and workers' unions is presented.
Abstract: In this article the author offers, on the one hand, a general view of the forms of collective action that have taken place in Spanish agriculture during the democratic transition and that have facilitated the development of the farmers' unions and workers' unions. On the other hand, he analyses the problems that these organizations have had in trying to consolidate themselves in a context characterized by the presence of institutional remains of the old Franco-ist agrarian corporatism. Finally he analyses the role played by these organizations in the creation and implementation of Spanish agricultural policy as well as the changes that are taking place after the admission of Spain to the EEC.
TL;DR: The main components of a suggested program are subsidies to farmers based on their acreage of grazed land or grassland and elimination of the present price supports and market regulations as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: This paper gives an overview of the present state of Swedish agriculture and discusses some problems and experiences of general interest. After an introductory section on the characteristics of Swedish agriculture, a number of problems are described, such as social problems, market imbalances, environmental damage, changes in landscape amenities, and animal health. Possible causes of these problems are discussed. Recent attempts to solve the problems as well as the current Swedish debate on more radical changes in agricultural policy are also discussed. The main components of a suggested program are subsidies to farmers based on their acreage of grazed land or grassland and elimination of the present price supports and market regulations.
TL;DR: In the Netherlands, the Relatienota areas (management areas and reserves) are established as discussed by the authors, where farmers in management areas voluntarily enter private contracts (management agreements) with the government, in which they promise to tailor agricultural production to nature and landscape conservation.
Abstract: Agriculture in the Netherlands is a critical industry, in terms of both its share of available land and its importance to the Dutch economy. Cultural-technical improvements and intensification of land use have resulted in increased productivity, but have also threatened vulnerable and valuable natural habitats and landscapes. TheRelatienota, a government report issued in 1975, introduced an environmental policy implemented by regulation in 1983 and 1988. Under this policy,Relatienota areas (management areas and reserves) are established. Farmers in management areas voluntarily enter private contracts (management agreements) with the government, in which they promise to tailor agricultural production to nature and landscape conservation. By compensating farmers for activities that maintain existing natural conditions, management agreements provide the incentive for extraordinary efforts to protect agricultural environments for valuable plant and animal species. Particularly sensitive natural areas, where environmental values are incompatible with economic farming, are identified as reserves, and the land is purchased for specialized management.
TL;DR: In this article, the major features of the development of Italian agriculture from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present are discussed, and it is argued that such development has been characterized by dualism, which has created serious contradictions in Italian society, which have not been resolved with the further integration of the country's agricultural sector into the European Community.
Abstract: The article illustrates the major features of the development of Italian agriculture from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present. It is argued that such development has been characterized by dualism. At the structural level dualism refers to the existence of a large number of small and very small farms, a limited number of medium-sized farms, and the presence of a very small segment of large farms that control the bulk of agricultural production and sales. Structural dualism in Italy is accompanied by regional dualism, which refers to the sharply different characteristics of the agriculture of the north and that of the south. In the northern regions the most productive and advanced farms are concentrated, while in the south smaller and less viable units are present. Dualism has created serious contradictions in Italian society, which have not been resolved with the further integration of the country's agricultural sector into the European Community.
TL;DR: In this article, the tobacco program has been shown to be an obstacle to consolidation and structural change in tobacco production, and it has been argued that these obstacles are based primarily on political factors.
Abstract: Recent debates over the persistence of family farms have focused on the importance of “naturalistic” obstacles to the capitalist development of agriculture. According to these arguments, the existence of these barriers in some realms of agricultural production precludes the development of wage labor. I argue, however, that in many instances these obstacles are based primarily on political factors. To demonstrate this thesis I illustrate how the tobacco program until recently has proved to be an obstacle to consolidation and structural change in tobacco production. The tobacco program has conditioned the extent of technological development and structural change in tobacco production. From the 1940s to the 1970s, the tobacco program maintained a system of small-scale producers and discouraged technological change in the industry. Changes in the program in the 1970s and 1980s, however, have contributed to the rapid mechanization and structural change among tobacco producers. Many of the “obstacles” to consolidation were overcome not by technological change, but by weakened political support for the tobacco program. These results suggest that in addition to economic and technological considerations, we need to assess more carefully the political foundations of the capitalist development of agriculture.
TL;DR: Eldridge's critique of the author's earlier paper on the place of theology in agricultural ethics at state universities fails in at least three places: (1) Eldridge presents an inadequate picture of how basic assumptions function in human thinking and misuses terms like “public,” “private,… “particular,‖ “empirical, and “common experience”; (2) he wrongly distinguishes between philosophers and theologians on the bais of their openness to new data, ideas, and public criticism; (3) he misunderstand
Abstract: Michael Eldridge's critique of the author's earlier paper on the place of theology in agricultural ethics at state universities fails in at least three places: (1) Eldridge presents an inadequate picture of how basic assumptions function in human thinking and misuses terms like “public,” “private,” “particular,” “empirical,” and “common experience”; (2) he wrongly distinguishes between philosophers and theologians on the bais of their openness to new data, ideas, and public criticism; (3) he misunderstands the meaning of the First Amendment. Baer argues that whenever faculty at a state university deal with the Big Questions—who we are, how we should live, and what it all means—they must be seen, for First Amendment purposes, as operating within the realm of religion. Without such a functional definition of religion, the state will inevitably give unfair advantage to nontheistic, secular answers to the Big Questions. Eldridge is wrong to claim that Dewey escapes the liabilities of particularity and parochialism in a way that theologians do not. He also misunderstands the nature of the First Amendment when he argues that public schools may legitimately propagate Dewey's naturalistic variety of “religion.” Baer claims that when state universities address the Big Questions, the demands of public justice will be met only if theologians participate in the discussion and debate.
TL;DR: The current financial stress in the countryside and the future of the family farm are likely to be major issues in the formulation of the 1990 Farm Bill as discussed by the authors, and medium-sized commercial family farms may be especially targeted for support.
Abstract: The current financial stress in the countryside and the future of the family farm are likely to be major issues in the formulation of the 1990 Farm Bill. Medium-sized commercial family farms may be especially targeted for support. These farms are the basis of rural economies and settlement patterns in many parts of nonmetropolitan America.
TL;DR: The slow rate of consolidation and adjustment in the agricultural sector of Greece is influenced by the following three factors: (1) lack of developed markets for long term capital; (2) multiple job holding among Greek farmers; and (3) protective agricultural policies as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Greece's agricultural economy has undergone a gradual process of adjustment since World War II. While farm numbers have been reduced and average farm size has increased, the relative size of the farm population is still large by European standards. The slow rate of consolidation and adjustment in the agricultural sector of Greece is influenced by the following three factors: (1) lack of developed markets for long term capital; (2) multiple job holding among Greek farmers; and (3) protective agricultural policies.
TL;DR: In this paper, some of the recently perceived environmental problems and over-production problems connected with Danish farming are outlined, and some land will probably be turned back to nature and the use of chemicals in agriculture in general will be reduced, perhaps with a lower productivity and a better environment as a consequence.
Abstract: Danish agriculture is facing a turning point. Centuries of struggle to increase arable land area as well as its productivity is about to be reversed, due to overproduction and environmental problems. Some land will probably be turned back to nature, and the use of chemicals in agriculture in general will be reduced, perhaps with a lower productivity and a better environment as a consequence. This paper mainly describes some of the political actions taken in Denmark to influence environmental-agricultural issues. First, however, some of the recently perceived environmental problems and over-production problems connected with Danish farming are outlined.
TL;DR: The authors examined the responses of a sample of Oklahoma rural leaders to a set of environmental, water quality, political, economic, and family farm orientation items developed in previous surveys and concluded that although Oklahoma's rural leaders are concerned about water quality problems, an environmentally sound formulation of rural values has yet to develop.
Abstract: National water quality concerns are creating momentum for legislation that takes a proactive stance toward agricultural practices involving agrichemicals. In response, the Environmental Protection Agency has asked the states to design appropriate non-point source pollution policies. This article examines the issues involved in two ways. First, it reviews the literature on previous conservation policies and discusses the implications for stricter regulation. Second, in order to determine the public opinion context for non-point source pollution policies, it examines the responses of a sample of Oklahoma rural leaders to a set of environmental, water quality, political, economic, and family farm orientation items developed in previous surveys. The analysis considers areas of agreement and disagreement related to socio-economic status, education, and extent of involvement in farming. It concludes that although Oklahoma's rural leaders are concerned about water quality problems, an environmentally-sound formulation of rural values has yet to develop. The most serious obstacle appears to be the perceived threat of environmental regulations to the variability of production agriculture.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed changes in agricultural demand for industrial products for the 1970-1984 period within the EEC and discussed adjustments in the product supplying process with emphasis on concentration and industrial diversification.
Abstract: The article analyzes changes in agricultural demand for industrial products for the 1970–1984 period within the EEC. Furthermore, it discusses adjustments in the product supplying process with emphasis on concentration and industrial diversification. Finally, it proposes some hypotheses in terms of orientation of techniques and productive agricultural systems.
TL;DR: In this article, a framework for exploring the temporal and behavioral aspects of the responses of various involved parties that may lead to governmental intervention in situations involving exposure of the public to hazardous substances is presented.
Abstract: This paper presents a framework for exploring the temporal and behavioral aspects of the responses of various involved parties that may lead to governmental intervention in situations involving exposure of the public to hazardous substances. The activities of key individuals are closely scrutinized. Relevance of the framework to agricultural and food concerns is also indicated. The exemplary case is the contamination of livestock in Michigan that began in 1973, but other cases are discussed that conform closely to the pattern described by the framework.