Progress 02/01/12 to 01/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences reached during this reporting period included various scientific groups. In addition to reaching target audiences in the social sciences (especially sociology) a general academic audience was reached. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As I will be retiring soon, there have been no activities for students. However, I have been invited to spend 10 weeks at a Paris laboratory that studies the relationship between standards and innovations.beginning October 1, 2016. Report Date 08/25/2016 Page 1 of 3 United States Department of Agriculture How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A new book has been produced and made available free to all interested parties. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next planning period I intend to complete this project.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Two major things were accomplished this year. First, through the comparison of various historical and contemporary analyses of standards development, it has been possibel to begin to examine how different kinds of standards (in agrifood, education and other domains) have led to different consequences. For example, early work on standards development by Herbert Hoover as Secretary of Commerce resulted in the rapid consoidation of various industries. Such work emphasized how important who is invited to standards setting meetings is to their final outcomes. Second, it became obvious that there are fundamentally four types of activiteis that structure social life, each of which has different means of enforcement: Norms are enforced by peer pressure, standards are enforced by market forces, laws are enforced by police and courts, and technologies are enforced by their material characteristics. Of course, all four types of structuring activities can be violated, but in each case their are consequences.
Publications
- Type:
Books
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Busch, L. 2016. Real Myths = False Truths: Securing America's Future East Lansing, available at http://www.lawrencebusch.net
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Real Myths = False Truths: Securing Americas Future. Invited paper presented to the Retired Faculty Association, December 2015.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Busch, L. 2016. La Nouvelle Autocracie Agroalimentaire, forthcoming in G. Allaire et B. Daviron, eds. Transformations et
Transitions dans lAgriculture et lAgro-alimentaire. Paris : Editions Quae.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Busch, L. 2015. Herbert Hoover and the Construction of Modernity, Journal of Innovation Economics and Management, forthcoming.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Hatanaka, M, and L. Busch. 2015. How Standards Make Food and Agriculture Global, Academia (Japan) 152: 3-15.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Busch, L. 2015. Herbert Hoover: Improving Living Standards through the Standardization of Living. Paper presented at
the annual meetings of the Society for Social Studies of Science, Denver, November.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Busch, L. 2016. Is Resistance Futile? How Global Agri-Food Attempts to Co-opt the Alternatives, Paper presented at the XIV World Congress of Rural Sociology, Toronto, Canada, August.
|
Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences reached during this reporting period included various scientific groups. In addition to reaching target audiences in the social sciences (especially sociology).Furthermore, a number of French audiences were reached on several trips to France. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?These results have been disemminated mainly through publications and presentations at professional meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Over the next year I intend to develop a greater understanding of the 'ecology' of standards, i.e., the ways in which myriad standards interact so as to simultaneously limit, guide and promote innovations. I will do this by examining how firm, local, national and international standards frame social action. I will also examine how standards frame markets, making possible some forms of exchange while prohibiting others.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Progress has been made on understanding how standards form a major part of the social infrastructure that underpins social institutions in a manner analagous to that of physical infrastructure. Moreover, concentration in the agrifood sector as well as the growth of global supply chains have tended to integrate agrifood standards with those of other industries to a considerable degree. For example, the rising use of information technologies and the standards embedded in software (e.g., algorithms) and hardware are becoming integrated with standards for farm operations, transport of farm products, food processing and food retailing. Even as these standards allow an increase in the circulation of capital, they have the potential to channel innovation into certain pathways and not others. Given concerns of climate change and agricultural sustainability, this narrowing of the path of innovation could prove problematic.
Publications
- Type:
Books
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Bonanno, S. and L. Busch, eds. 2015. Handbook of the International Political Economy of Agriculture and Food. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Busch, L. 2015. Standards and Their Problems, forthcoming in M. Miele, V.Higgins, H. Bj�rkhaug and M. Truninger, eds. Transforming the Rural: Global Processes and Local Futures. Bingley, UK: Emerald Books.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Busch, L. and D. Stuart. 2015. Agricultural Sciences and Technology, pp. 471-476 in J. D. Wright, ed. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. Oxford: Elsevier, 2nd edition, volume 1.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Busch, L. What Good is Higher Education? How Neoliberalism Constrains Teaching, Research and Outreach. Invited plenary paper, Neoliberalism and Public Higher Education, East Lansing, MI, March 2015.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Busch, L. kNOw More Rural? The Eclipse of Rurality under Neoliberalism. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Rural Sociological Society, Madison, August 2015.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Thompson, P. B., L. Busch and J. V. Stone. 2015. Standards Education in The Liberal Arts: Curricular Materials and Educational Strategies, Standards Engineering, forthcoming.
|
Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14
Outputs
Target Audience: Target audiences reached during this reporting period included various scientific groups. In addition to reaching target audiences in the social sciences (especially sociology), members of the IEEE were reached via a paper on nanobiosensors. Furthermore, a number of French audiences were reached on several trips to France. These audiences were interdisciplinary and included social scientists of various sorts as well as a wide range of participants from the agricultural sciences. Finally, a local audience was reached via participation on a panel on 'Questioning Technology.' Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Considerable progress was made in explaining the changes in the standards used to reward scientists in the US and elsewhere. It appears that such changes have increased measured productivity, but have shifted much research away from those products and processes not amenable to those measured outcomes. Of particular concern is potential for a decline the rate of agricultural innovation as a result of standards that are increasingly narrow. In addition, considerable progress has been made on understanding the implications of third party certification of agricultural products. For example, unlike government regulations which can usually be appealed, third party certification usually lacks an appeals process.
Publications
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Whyte, K. P., M. List, J. V. Stone, D. Grooms, S. Gasteyer, P. B. Thompson, L. Busch, D. Buskirk, E. Giorda, and H. Bouri. 2014. Uberveillance, Standards, and Anticipation: A Case Study on Nanobiosensors in U.S. Cattle. Pp. 251-269 in M. G. Michael, and K. Michael, eds. Uberveillance and the Social Implications of Microchip Implants: Emerging Technologies. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Busch, L. 2014. How Neoliberal Myths Endanger Democracy and Open New Avenues for Democratic Action. In S. Wolf and A. Bonanno, eds. Pp. 32-51 in The Neoliberal Regime in the Agri-Food Sector: Crisis, Resilience and Restructuring. Boston: Routledge.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Konefal. J. and L. Busch. 2014. Standardised and Differentiated: Biotechnologies and Identity Preservation in Maize and Soybeans. In Les m�tamorphoses du productivisme agricole. Pour une sociologie des grandes cultures. Rennes : Presses Universitaires de Rennes, forthcoming.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Busch, L. 2014. Individual Choice and Social Values: Choice in the Agrifood Sector, Journal of Consumer Culture, forthcoming.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Busch, L. 2014. A Dozen Ways to Get Lost in Translation: Inherent Challenges in Large-Scale Data Sets, International Journal of Communication, 8:1727-1744.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Busch, L. 2014. Governance in the age of global markets: challenges, limits, and consequences, Agriculture and Human Values, 31: 513-523.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Eaton, W. M., S. P. Gasteyer, and L. Busch. 2014. "Bioenergy Futures: Framing Sociotechnical Imaginaries in Local Places." Rural Sociology 79(2): 227-256.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
MacKenzie, A., C. Waterton, R. Ellis, E. Frow, R. McNally, L. Busch, and B. Wynne. 2013. Classifying, Constructing and Identifying Life: Standards as Transformations of The Biological, Science, Technology and Human Values 38(5): 701-722.
- Type:
Books
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Busch, L. 2014. Le March� aux Connaissances: Ce que le n�olib�ralisme fait � lenseignement sup�rieur et la recherche. Paris: Editions Quae.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Busch, L. Some Thoughts on Standards and Innovations. Invited brief presented at an international workshop on Standardization as space(s) for innovation, Institut Francilien Recherche Innovation Soci�t�, Champs-sur-Marne, France, December 2013.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Le Monde Cach� des Normes: Comment des norms peuvent limiter ou advancer la durabilit�. Invited paper presented at Montpellier SupAgro, February 2014.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Busch, L. Neoliberalism and Higher Education. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science, San Diego, October 2013.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Paradoxes of Late Modernity. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Rural Sociological Society, New Orleans, August, 2014.
|
Progress 11/09/12 to 09/30/13
Outputs
Target Audience: To date, this project has reached a wide array of audiences. A book emanating from the project has been reviewed in the Wall Street Journal as well a wide range of scientific journals. popular and technical press in numerous fields. In addition, I was asked to speak to a large (300) person audience on “Examining the Food Chain” at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute lecture series, Ann Arbor, MI, April 2013. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? A workshop on integrating standards education into undergraduate courses was held. Among the topics included were animal welfare and food safety standards. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? To date results of been disseminated through reviews in the popular press, addresses to lay audiences, invitations to present at special workshops and conferences and presentations at professional meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? I plan to spend three months in France at the Centre International de la Recherche Agronomique pour le Developpement (CIRAD) working with colleagues there who are also studying standards issues.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In recent years, certifications as well as multi-stakeholder initatitves have become commonplace in the production of various agricultural products. Research on certifications and multi-stakeholder initiatives in the agrifood sector reveals serious problems of representation, more than occasional failure to meet obectives (e.g., enhanced sustainabillity), and occasionally serious gaps in safety and sustainability. With complementary support from the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), efforts have been made to develop curricular materials that can be used in undergraduate classes to help students understand the strategic, political, ethical, economic and social as well as the technical content of standards.
Publications
- Type:
Books
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Standards: Recipes for Reality, paper edition (Cambridge, MIT Press, 2013).
- Type:
Books
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Standards: Recipes for Reality (Korean Edition, Seoul: Hanul Press)
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
MacKenzie, A., C. Waterton, R. Ellis, E. Frow, R. McNally, L. Busch, and B. Wynne. 2013. Classifying, Constructing and Identifying Life: Standards as Transformations of The Biological, Science, Technology and Human Values 38(5): 701-722.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Busch, L. and K. Powys-Whyte. 2012. On the Peculiarity of Standards: A Reply to Thompson. Philosophy and Technology 25(2):243-248.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Busch, L. 2013. Governance in the age of global markets: challenges, limits, and consequences, Agriculture and Human Values, forthcoming.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Konefal. J. and L. Busch. 2013. Standardised and Differentiated: Biotechnologies and Identity Preservation in Maize and Soybeans. In Les m�tamorphoses du productivisme agricole. Pour une sociologie des grandes cultures. Rennes : Presses Universitaires de Rennes,
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Busch, L. 2014. How Neoliberal Myths Endanger Democracy and Open New Avenues for Democratic Action. In S. Wolf and A. Bonanno, eds. The Neoliberal Regime in the Agri-Food Sector: Crisis, Resilience and Restructuring. Boston: Routledge, forthcoming.
|
Progress 01/01/12 to 11/08/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: A considerable amount of time was spent on coming to grips with the widespread use of certification, accreditations, and standards both within and outside the agrifood sector. Collection of case study data of failed certifications/accreditations has begun, in an attempt to discern why these failures occurred and how they might be prevented in the future. Moreover, the relations between private standards and governance has begun to be examined. Several papers were developed and presented at the meetings of the Rural Sociological Society and the International Rural Sociological Association. PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
My book, reported last year, Standards: Recipes for Reality (MIT Press) was favorably reviewed in the Wall Street Journal and appears to have had a significant influence on public understanding of standards. In addition, several podcasts have been developed on the subject and are now available on the web. Finally, a small grant has been received from the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) to use knowledge created on this project to develop curricular materials at the undergraduate level.
Publications
- Busch, L. and K. Powys-Whyte. 2012. "On the Peculiarity of Standards: A Reply to Thompson." Philosophy and Technology 25(2):243-248.
- Busch, L. 2012. "Standards Governing Agricultural Innovation. Where Do We Come From Where Should We Be Going" Pp. 35-53 in Renewing Innovation Systems in Agriculture and Food: How to go towards more sustainability, edited by E. Coudel, H. Devautour, C. T. Soulard, G. Faure, and B. Hubert. Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers.
- Busch, L. 2012. "Normes gouvernant l'innovation agricole." Pp.26-42 in Apprendre a innover dans un monde incertain: Concevoir les futurs de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation, edited by E. Coudel, H. Devautour, C. T. Soulard, G. Faure, and B. Hubert. Paris: Editions Quae.
|
Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Much of the year was spent in revising a now published manuscript for publication by MIT Press on standards. Of particular note is the realization that standards are used to construct parts of realities. Put differently, when implemented widely, standards create their own realities (e.g., a standardized seed variety creates a taken-for-granted reality for farmers, food processors, and others in the supply chain. This new perspective on standards was completed and applied to a number of current standards development issues. These included a variety of types of standards, including food security, food trade, private governance of food and agriculture, animal welfare, and climate change. PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: This project has a broad target audience as standards are ubiquitous not only in the food and agricultural sector, but throughout society. In particular, research results suggest means for making the standards-making process more inclusive and democratic. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
To date, the new perspective has been positively received. In part as a result o this, I was an invited member of a panel on "Ubiquitous Monitoring and Risk: What are the Implications for Public Health and Sustainability" at the Risk, Uncertainty, and Sustainable Innovation symposium, Ann Arbor, September 2011.
Publications
- Busch, L. Standards: Recipes for Reality. 2011. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- Busch, L. 2011. "The Private Governance of Food: Equitable Exchange or Bizarre Bazaar" Agriculture and Human Values, 28: 345-352.
- Busch, L. 2011. "How Animal Welfare Standards Create and Justify Realities," Animal Welfare, 20: 21-27.
- Deaton, B., L. Busch, W. J. Samuels, and P. B. Thompson. 2011. "A Note on the Economy of Qualities: Attributing Production Practices to Agricultural Products," Journal of Rural Social Sciences, 25(3): 99-110.
- Busch, L. 2011. "Standards, Law, and Governance," Journal of Rural Social Sciences, 25(3): 56-78.
- Konefal, J. and M. Hatanaka, 2011. "An Interview with Dr. Lawrence Busch," Journal of Rural Social Sciences 25(3): 18-33.
- Busch, L. 2011. "Food Standards: The Cacophony of Governance," Journal of Experimental Botany, 62(10): 3247-3250.
- Thompson, P. B., M. Appleby, L. Busch, L. Kalof, M. Miele, B. F. Norwood, and E. Pajor. 2011. "Values and Public Acceptability Dimensions of Sustainable Egg Production," Poultry Science, 90(9): 2097-2109.
- Fuchs, D., A. Kalfagianni, J. Clapp, and L. Busch, 2011. "Introduction to symposium on private agrifood governance: values, shortcomings and strategies," Agriculture and Human Values, 28(3): 335-344.
- Busch, L. 2011. "Climate Change: How Debates Over Standards Shape the Biophysical, Social, Political, and Economic Climate," International Journal of the Sociology of Agriculture and Food, 18(3): 167-180.
- Busch, L. and K. Powys-Whyte. 2011. "On the Peculiarity of Standards: A Reply to Thompson." Philosophy and Technology, forthcoming.
- Busch, L. 2011. "Quasi-States The Unexpected Rise of Private Food Law," in Private Food Law: Governing food chains through contract law, self-regulation, private standards, audits and certification schemes, Bernd van der Meulen, ed. Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 51-73.
|
Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Work is nearly complete on a new volume on standards. A draft is now complete, a publisher (MIT Press) has been identified, and the completed manuscript has been provided to the publisher for publication in the spring of next year. This volume attempts to draw connections between and among various fields of science, both within and outside the agricultural sciences, as to what standards are, how they are used, and what implications they have for various actors in agrifood and other supply chains. During 2010 the PI was an invited speaker at (1) the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Toulouse, France, (2) the Ideas Festival, Lancaster University, United Kingdom, April, (3) Innovation and Sustainable Development in Agriculture and Food, Montpellier, France, June, (4) a symposium on food security, sponsored by the Society for Experimental Biology, Lancaster, UK, September, (5) the European Food Law Association, Amsterdam, September, and (6) the Sustainable Michigan Educational Project Academy, East Lansing, October. PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
In addition to the invited presentations noted above, the outcomes and impacts of the project were recognized and illustrated by invitations to participate in (1) a conference on Food Security in Beijing, China, (2) participation on the Science Board of the (animal) Welfare Quality project of the European Union, a project designed to establish animal welfare standards for European farm animals, and (3) several interviews with journalists concerned with standards issues.
Publications
- Busch, L. 2010. The Private Governance of Food: Equitable Exchange or Bizarre Bazaar Agriculture and Human Values, forthcoming.
- Loconto, A. and L. Busch. 2010. Standards, Techno-Economic Networks, and Playing Fields: Performing the Global Market Economy. Review of International Political Economy, 17:3 (August) 507-536.
- Busch, L. 2010. Can Fairy Tales Come True The Surprising Story of Neoliberalism and World Agriculture. Sociologia Ruralis, 50 (4): 331-351.
- Konefal, J. and L. Busch. 2010. Markets of Multitudes: How Biotechnologies are Standardising and Differentiating Corn and Soybeans, Sociologia Ruralis, 50 (4): 409-427.
- Busch, L. 2010. How Animal Welfare Standards Create and Justify Realities, Animal Welfare, forthcoming.
|
Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Work continues on a new volume on standards. A draft is now complete, a publisher has been identified, and manuscript revision is underway. This volume attempts to draw connections between and among various fields of science, both within and outside the agricultural sciences, as to what standards are, how they are used, and what implications they have for various actors in agrifood supply chains. During 2009 the PI was an invited speaker at (1) a 'Seminario y Dialogo Publico: Cultivos Transgenicos en Chile: Que queremos como pais,in Santiago, Chile; (2) a conference on Knowing Animals, in Florence, Italy; (3) a special seminar at the Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa, in Lisbon, Portugal; (4) the Nanotechology Standards Committee of the British Standards Institution,in London, UK; and (5) gave the keynote address at the European Society for Rural Sociology in Vaasa, Finland. In addition, he participated in a special initiative of the Government Office for Science on Food Security in London, UK. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The outcomes and impacts of the project were recognized and illustrated by invitations to participate in (1) a special initiative of the Government Office for Science on Food Security in London, UK, (2) a 'summer university' attended by 250 European youth (ages 18-30) on Science and Society Issues held in Le Cheylard, France, and (3) participation on the Science Board of the (animal) Welfare Quality project of the European Union, a project designed to establish animal welfare standards for European farm animals. In addition, project results were instrumental in collaborating with Chinese scholars at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences on food safety issues in China.
Publications
- 1. Busch, L, A. Loconto, and X. Li. 2008. "New Technologies, Standards, and Local Food Resources." Pp. 163-181 in Proceedings of the Third Afrasian International Symposium. Resources Under Stress: Sustainability of the Local Community in Asia and Africa, Y. Kawamura, H. Nakamura, and S. Ishizaka, eds. Kyoto: Afrasian Centre for Peace and Development Studies, Ryukoku University.
- 2. Fan Hongping; Zhihua Ye; Weijun Zhao, Heshan Tian, Qi Yamei, and Lawrence Busch. 2009. "Agriculture and Food Quality and Safety Certification Agencies in Four Chinese Cities," Food Control 20: 627-630.
- 3. Busch, L. 2009. "What Kind of Agriculture Do We Want What Might Science Deliver" Natures, Sciences, Societes, 17 (3):241-247.
|
Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Work continues on a new volume on standards. A first draft is now complete and the process of seeking a publisher and revising the manuscript has begun. This volume attempts to draw connections between and among various fields of science, both within and outside the agricultural sciences, as to what standards are, how they are used, and what implications they have for various actors in agrifood supply chains. During 2008, the PI participated as a trainer in a workshop for CSREES staff on "The Culture of Science." In addition, he was an invited speaker at (1) a conference on development at Ryukoku University (Kyoto) on the role of standards in agricultural development, (2) a symposium at the Ecole Normale Superieure de Cachan (Paris) on the relations between laws and standards, (3) a workshop on the performative aspects of markets hosted by the Universitat Frankfurt am Main, (4) a workshop on security standards sponsored by the Infonomics and New Media Research Centre (Maastricht), (5) a conference on Food Safety, Quality Assurance and Global Trade: Concerns and Strategies, Pantnagar, India, and (6) a conference on 'Science en Societe' organized by the Presidency of the European Union in Paris. The PI was also a member of the review panel for Genome British Columbia's latest round of grant proposals. PARTICIPANTS: Partner Organizations: Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA; National Science Foundation, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Centre for Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics (United Kingdom). Collaborators at MSU: Paul Thompson, Craig Harris, Toby Ten Eyck, Kenneth David, John Lloyd, John Stone, Susan Selke, Zhao Weijun, and James Bingen. Training and Professional Development: Several graduate students have worked on project activities resulting in a Master's Thesis and a dissertation project. TARGET AUDIENCES: There are basically two target audiences for this project: (1) those in other scientific disciplines, who were reached through informal networks and via the workshop in Washington noted above, and (2) participants in agricultural supply chains who were reached largely through published materials and through their attendance at public meetings. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
Although standards are ubiquitous in contemporary societies, their uses (and misuses) and functions are poorly understood. Through participation in the activities noted above, as well as through publication in a wide range of venues, the PI has helped to raise awareness of how standards (including those for scientific tests and procedures) are produced, what consequences they have, how they can be used to strategic advantage, and what ethical and moral issues they potentially pose in a variety of arenas from food safety to security to agricultural market development. Finally, through joint work with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (reported in two papers below), our Chinese colleagues have been sensitized to the complexities and challenges of certification and accreditation of various actors in the food supply chain in China.
Publications
- Busch, L. 2008. Nanotechnologies, Food, and Agriculture: Next Big Thing or Flash in the Pan Agriculture and Human Values, 25 (2) :215-218.
- Hatanaka, M. and L. Busch. 2008. Third-Party Certification in the Global Agrifood System: An Objective or Socially Mediated Governance Mechanism Sociologia Ruralis 48 (January): 73-91.
- Qi Yamei, Ye Zhihua, Zhao Weijun, Tian Heshan, Fan Hongping, and Lawrence Busch. 2008. Third-Party Certification of Agro-Products in China: A Study of Agro-Product Producers in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Qingdao, Food Protection Trends 28 (11): 765-770.
- Fan Hongping; Zhihua Ye; Weijun Zhao, Heshan Tian, Qi Yamei, and Lawrence Busch. 2008. Agriculture and Food Quality and Safety Certification Agencies in Four Chinese Cities, Food Control .
- Busch, L. and J. Lloyd. 2008. What Can Nanotechnology Learn from Biotechnology Pp. 261-276 in Paul Thompson and Kenneth David, eds., What Can Nano Learn from Bio New York: Academic Press.
- Busch, L. 2008. Agricultural Intensification and the Environment. Pp. 149-155 in P. Thompson, ed., The Ethics of Intensification. Heidelberg: Springer.
- Busch, L. 2008. Science, Standards, and Safe Food: Challenges and Opportunities. Pp. 13-24 in Singh, S. P., Julie Funk, S. C. Tripathi, and Nanda Joshi, eds., Food Safety, Quality Assurance and Global Trade: Concerns and Strategies. Lucknow, India: International Book Distributing Company.
|
Progress 01/01/07 to 12/31/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Work was begun on a new general volume on standards. Standards, while common to a wide range of technical and social fields of study, have been largely undertheorized. This volume will attempt to draw connections between and among the various fields of science, both within and outside the agricultural sciences, as to what standards are, how they are used, and what implications they have for various actors in agrifood supply chains. Two workshops were held: 'What is Agrifood Nanotechnology?' brought together scientists, industry and NGO representatives, and policymakers from a wide range of fields to discuss and debate the impacts of these technologies throughout the agrifood supply chains. An edited book of proceedings is currently in press. A second, invitational workshop on the role of standards was also held. The results of that workshop will also likely result in one or more publications. In addition, an 'International Symposium on Certification and Traceability for Food
Safety and Quality' was held in Beijing jointly with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture.
PARTICIPANTS: Partner Organizations: Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA; Economic Research Service, USDA, National Science Foundation, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Genomics Policy and Research Forum (United Kingdom). Collaborators: Paul Thompson, Craig Harris, Alan Rudy, Toby Ten Eyck, Kenneth David, John Lloyd, Susan Selke, Zhao Weijun, James Bingen. Several graduate students have worked on project activities.
TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences include various actors along the agrifood supply chain from input suppliers to final consumers, as well as graduate students interested in standards.
Impacts
Our understanding of the strategic roles of standards in domestic and foreign policy making as well as in the private sector was enhanced. Policymakers and scientists in the United States, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and France were provided with guidance on the strategic use of standards. US policymakers were provided with guidance on the likely standards needed and impacts of various nanotechnologies on agrifood supply chains. Chinese scientists and regulators were apprised of the use of standards to improve the quality and safety of agrifood products and processes.
Publications
- Rudy, A.P.; D. Coppin, J. Konefal, B.T. Shaw, T. Ten Eyck, C. Harris, and L. Busch. 2007. Universities in the Age of Corporate Science: The UC Berkeley-Novartis Controversy. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
- Busch, L. (2007). Comments [on Stone, 'Agricultural Deskilling...'], Current Anthropology 48(1): 87-88.
- Busch, L. (2007). Performing the Economy, Performing Science: From Neoclassical to Supply Chain Models in the Agrifood Sector, Economy and Society 36 (3): 439-468.
- Peterson, N., Riley, S., Busch, L., and Liu, J. (2007). Reconciling Wildlife Management's Conflicted Purpose with a Land Community Worldview, The Journal of Wildlife Management, 71(8): 2499-2506.
- Holt, D.; T. Reid, and L. Busch. (2007). Les Normes dans l'Agriculture Contemporaine: Du Droit Positif a l'Etat Evaluateur et Auditeur, Demeter 13: 89-115.
- Konefal, J., C. Bain, M. Mascarenhas and L. Busch, (2007). Supermarkets and Supply Chains in North America, Pp. 270-290 in G. Lawrence and D. Burch, eds., Supermarkets and Agri-food Supply Chains: Transformations in the Production and Consumption of Foods. London: Edward Elgar, forthcoming.
- Busch, L. (2007). Commentary on Agricultural Biotechnology. Pp. 202-206 in Charles McManis, ed., Biodiversity and the Law: Intellectual Property, Biotechnology & Traditional Knowledge. London: Earthscan.
- Institute for Food and Agricultural Standards. (2007). An Issues Lanscape for Nanotechnology Standards: Report of a Workshop. East Lansing, MI: IFAS. http://ifas.msu.edu.
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Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06
Outputs
This project has allowed the identification and partial clarification of several major trends in the agrifood sector: (1) There has been a somewhat uneven shift away from direct governmental regulation of various aspects of production and processing (e.g., health, worker safety, environment, fair trade, animal welfare) through regulatory agencies toward the use of either public standards certified by private bodies or private standards certified by third parties (firms and non-profit organizations). (2) There has been a rapid rise of global and national supermarket chains as the dominant actors in food supply chains. As the dominant actors, they have attempted with varying degrees of success to take on the role of protectors of consumers with respect to a wide range of aspects of the 'quality' of food products. As such, they have developed private standards both as individual firms and as members of various industry associations. (3) The certification industry is now
a major player worldwide in food supply chains in and of itself. As it seeks new business, it encourages continued growth in the scope and depth of certifications. (4) Producers of undifferentiated agricultural products are likely to have continuing difficulty in remaining profitable, while those producers with differentiated commodities are often able to command premium prices for their products. (5) In coming years, all actors in the supply chain will need to think and act far more strategically if they are to be or remain successful.
Impacts
This project provided producers and others in agrifood supply chains with a better understanding of how to use standards to act strategically in promoting their products and services. Standards can be used effectively to differentiate products and services so as to command premium prices. Differentiation may take the form of differences in product or process quality, environmental soundness, fair trade, welfare of animals, organic, and other distinctions. The effectiveness of these distinctions will depend on both the inventiveness of the distinction and the demand for that particular quality in the local, regional, or global market. However, it should be noted that the differentiation itself may create a market that did not exist beforehand.
Publications
- Bingen, J. and L. Busch, eds.. 2006. Agricultural Standards: The Shape Of The Global Food And Fiber System. Dordrecht: Springer.
- Hatanaka, M., C. Bain, and L. Busch, 2006. "Differentiated Standardization, Standardized Differentiation: The Complexity of the Global Agrifood System," Pp 39-68 in T. Marsden and J. Murdoch, eds., Between The Local And The Global: Confronting Complexity In The Contemporary Food Sector. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
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Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05
Outputs
The growth of private standards throughout the agrifood system continues to date. Such standards now cover more and more aspects of production and processing. Moreover, they are dynamic and tend to change far more rapidly than public standards. Several papers are in preparation examining the issues surrounding Third Party Certification (TPC) of food products by retailers. A selective sample of large US retailers have been surveyed by telephone and found to either be planning to implement some form of TPC or to already have such a system in place. A mail survey of non-GM producers, processors, and distributors is planned to be sent early next year. That survey will also focus on TPC. Research on animal agriculture reveals considerable TPC around the US and Europe focused especially on animal welfare issues.
Impacts
It is expected that this project will lead to identification of more effective strategies by which farmers can use standards to their advantage in the marketplace. As the retail sector comes to be dominated by a few large chains, niche markets for specialty products are likely to become more critical for maintaining farmer income. By examining standards throughout the supply chain, this project will provide guidance for farmers and others in managing innovation in products and processes.
Publications
- Winickoff, D., Jasanoff, S., Grove-White, R., Busch, L., and Wynne, B. 2005. Adjudicating the GM Food Wars: Science, Risk, and Democracy in World Trade Law. The Yale Journal of International Law. 30 (1): 81-123.
- Bain, C. and Busch, L. 2005. The Limits of Audits, Pp. 141-145 in Hide or Confide, Gertjan Hofsteade, ed. Amsterdam: Reed Business Information.
- Busch, L. 2005. Agricultural Sciences, Pp. 2-8 in Science, Technology, and Society: An Encyclopedia, Sal Restivo, ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Bain, C., Deaton, B., and Busch, L. 2005. Agricultural and Food Standards, In V. Higgins and G. Lawrence, eds. Agricultural Governance. Boston: Routledge.
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Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04
Outputs
A bulletin describing the standards issues facing blueberry farmers has been published. Current work involves obtaining a better understanding of the issues surrounding rapidly growing retailer/processor demands for third party certification of farm products and processes, i.e., certification of food safety, quality, organic, environmental soundness, worker health and safety, etc. by accredited third party certifiers. These certifications are used to enforce various private and public standards and are a new form of governance that is neither fully public nor fully private.
Impacts
It is expected that this project will lead to identification of more effective strategies by which farmers can use standards to their advantage in the marketplace. In particular, blueberry farmers should gain a greater understanding of how standards in the industry are likely to affect them.
Publications
- Busch, L. and Bain, C. 2004. "New! Improved? The Transformation of the Global Agrifood System." Rural Sociology 69: 321-346.
- Busch, L. 2004. "Lessons Unlearned: How Biotechnology is Changing Society." Pp. 27-38 in Biotechnology: Science and Society at a Crossroad. Ithaca, NY: National Agricultural Biotechnology Council.
- Busch, L. 2004. "The Social Construction of Food Safety." Pp. 163-178 in M. E. Lien and B. Nerlich, eds. (2004) The Politics of Food. Oxford: Berg.
- Bain, C. and Busch, L. 2004. Standards and Strategies in the Michigan Blueberry Industry. East Lansing, MI: Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, Research Report 585.
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Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03
Outputs
Data from in-depth interviews with blueberry farmers in Michigan have been gathered and completed. Particular attention was paid to private standards which have proliferated in the industry in recent years. These include maximum counts for various microbes, restrictions on Japanese beetles (which even electronic sorters can sometimes confuse with berries), as well as standards for facilities and HACCP standards. Microbial standards pose particular difficulties for farmers as little is known about what factors account for high or low counts. Nor is there much information as to what levels should be considered safe. A bulletin on the problems facing the industry is in preparation.
Impacts
It is expected that this project will lead to identification of more effective strategies by which farmers can use standards to their advantage in the marketplace. In particular, blueberry farmers should gain a greater understanding of how standards in the industry are likely to affect them.
Publications
- Tanaka, K., Busch, L. 2003. Standardization as a Means for Globalizing a Commodity: The Case of Rapeseed in China. Rural Soc. 68: 25-45.
- Yamaguchi, T., Harris, C., Busch, L. 2003. Agrifood Biotechnology Discourse in India, Sci., Tech., and Soc. 8: 47-72.
- Busch, L. 2003. Virgil, Viligence, and Voice, J. of Agr. and Env. Ethics 16: 459-477.
- Busch, L. 2003. Klasser og Standarder I den Sosiale Konstruksjonen av Trygg Mat. Pp. 219-238 in Haugen, M., Straete, E. eds. Ut I Verden Og Inn I Bygda: Festskrift til Reidar Almaas. Trondheim: Tapir Akademisk Forlag.
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Progress 01/01/02 to 12/31/02
Outputs
A historical review of the Blueberry subsector in Michigan and the US has been conducted. In addition, some interviews with growers and processors have been conducted. Particular attention has been paid to private standards required by purchasers of blueberries for processing and fresh markets. Standards issues identified in this initial phase include concerns about microbial counts and Japanese beetle infestations. Both pose potentially serious economic, social, and technical constraints on growers.
Impacts
It is expected that this project will lead to identification of more effective strategies by which farmers can use standards to their advantage in the marketplace.
Publications
- Busch, L. 2002. "The Homeletics of Risk," Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics. 15: 17-29.
- Busch, L. 2002. "The Implications of Global Standards for National Agricultural Research," in D. Bigman (ed.), Globalization and the Developing Countries:Emerging Strategies for Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation. London: CABI Publishing.
- Busch, L. 2002. "Agricultural Sciences and Technology," Pp. 333-337 in N. J. Smelser and Paul B. Baltes, eds. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
- Middendorf, G., E. Ransom, and L. Busch. 2002. "Current Issues in Agricultural Science and Technology Policy." In Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems. Oxford, UK: UNESCO and EOLSS Publishers.
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