Craig K. Harris

Global change in agrifood grades and standards: Agribusiness strategic responses in developing countries

The role of GS (2) by medium-large domestic firms, to lobby governments to adopt public GS (3) by small firms and farms, to ally with public and nonprofit sectors to form G&S and certification systems to access export markets and to bring institutional change to nontradable product markets. Governments should build the capacity of the poor to invest to “make the grade” implied by the new G&S.

Female reproductive and developmental toxicology: overview and current approaches

In recent years, concern about possible female reproductive and developmental toxicity due to environmental contaminants, such as PCBs, has been growing. Because this area of toxicology had not been emphasized prior to this time, there are many gaps in current knowledge about female developmental and reproductive toxicology and only a limited number of validated tests to assay effects of toxicants on various parts of the reproductive and developmental cycle. This article reviews the current state of knowledge on this topic and also explores a variety of techniques for assessing female reproductive and developmental toxicity. These include an assay of the state of intercellular communication among the embryo, fetus and placenta; protocols for assessing toxicity in early pregnancy; and techniques for evaluating the role of glutathione in protecting the conceptus from xenobiotics.

The Economic Hegemonization of Bt Cotton Discourse in India

Among the various transgenic crops being researched and developed for India, Bt cotton is the only crop commercialized at present. Social actors in various professions and positions have been expressing their expectations of what will or will not happen if agrifood biotechnologies are or are not commercially introduced. In their discourse, these social actors have identified diverse and complex issues extending from questions of equity (how the benefits of commercialization will be distributed between growers in different social and economic strata, and how the environmental or health risks will be distributed and redistributed among different groups in the population) to questions of development (how to improve agricultural productivity so as to meet the growing food demands, and how to maintain national autonomy in agricultural technology). This article explores the discourse concerning Bt cotton in India by examining the interpretations advocated by various social actors. The concept of frame is used to analyze the content of print media and interviews. Analysis of the Bt cotton discourse shows that the dominant actors have shifted over time away from government and industry officials and toward farmers, and that the dominant frame has shifted over time from governmental process to economic impact.

Socio-economic impacts of introduced species in Lake Victoria fisheries

One of the basic principles of introductory ecology is the YCCJOT Principle: you cannot change just one thing. The fundamental notions of ecosystem analysis imply that all elements are connected, directly or indirectly, so that a change in one element will eventually have some impact on every other element (Mwebaza-Mdawula, 1990).

Listeria in Raw Milk Soft Cheese: A Case Study of Risk Governance in the United States Using the IRGC Framework

Between 1980 and 1996 there were 30 known and reported outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with cheese consumption in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Scandinavia (Cody et al. 1999), and 16 of these outbreaks were associated with cheese produced using unpasteurised milk contaminated with one or more of the following pathogens— Brucella sp, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella spp., and Yersinia enterocolitica (Teuber 2000). In this chapter, we will focus on only one of these pathogens—Listeria monocytogenes (Lm). Of the above outbreaks, three were caused by Lm, which resulted in 284 reported illnesses and 86 deaths (Teuber 2000). Periodic outbreaks of listeriosis from cheese have continued to occur; at least another six Lm outbreaks in the U.S., four in Europe, and two in Canada have been associated with cheese consumption since 1996 (de Valk et al. 2005; Food Safety Network 2005; Pagotto et al. 2006; U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition [FDA CFSAN] et al. 2003).

Factors Influencing Diversity of Farmers’ Varieties of Sweet Potato in Uganda: Implications for Conservation

Factors Influencing Diversity of Farmers’ Varieties of Sweet Potato in Uganda: Implications for Conservation. There is increasing concern that agricultural intensification is causing loss of crop biodiversity due to displacement of traditional farmers’ varieties by a small number of improved cultivars. Using ethnobotanical surveys, we assessed the implication of adoption of new sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) cultivars on the maintenance of farmers’ varieties in Uganda. Other factors influencing varietal diversity were also assessed. A total of 102 farmer households distributed in the top three sweet potato production agro-ecological zones were interviewed. With the exception of released cultivars, very few varieties appeared in more than one region. The majority of the respondents indicated that they continue to plant some of the existing varieties when they adopt new cultivars. Loss of planting materials due to drought was a major constraint to maintaining varietal diversity for this vegetatively propagated crop. Limited land and lack of access to best management practices were also key constraints to maintenance of farmers’ varieties. The primary criteria for adopting new cultivars were higher yield, taste, and duration to maturity. Yield stability, tolerance to native biotic and abiotic stresses, and good taste were important for maintenance of currently grown varieties. Overall, criteria for variety selection varied with household characteristics including farmer age and gender, uses of the crop, micro-climatic conditions in the farmers’ fields, and level of access to agricultural extension. The observed heterogeneity in selection criteria, influence of social ties, and the role of environment in varietal maintenance have important implications for establishing breeding priorities and preservation of crop diversity.

Agri-food Biotechnology Discourse in India:

Introduction of biotechnologies, particularly genetically modified (GM) technologies, have led to varying public responses from the government, general public and concerned farmers who use the technological products at the field level. Introduction of Bt cotton in India over the last five years generated considerable debate from the time open field testing of Bt cotton commenced towards the late 1990s. This paper is a modest attempt to map the contours of this debate and analyse it from a sociological perspective of the actors. Most significantly, actors in government and industries express trust in the ar rangements governing biotechnology, while actors in civil society point out problems with the functioning of the relevant governing bodies. We first present a brief overview of the events of the controversy, and then proceed with the body of our study.

A workshop on transitioning cities at the food-energy-water nexus

Metropolitan development in the USA has historically relied on systems of centralized infrastructure that assume a population density and level of economic activity that has not been consistently sustained in post-industrial urban landscapes. In many cities, this has resulted in dependence on systems that are environmentally, economically, and socially unsustainable. Reliance on this deteriorating social and physical infrastructure results in waste and decreased efficiencies. While numerous cities could exemplify this trend, the present work highlights two compelling cases: Detroit, Michigan and Baltimore, Maryland. The paper provides important feedback from a recent workshop held with experts of both practical and academic backgrounds from both cities. The workshop focused on sustainability of the food-energy-water nexus within the context of transitioning urban landscapes, economies, and governance processes associated with post-industrial cities. The pursuit of environmental, economic, and social sustainability—especially in relation to food, energy, and water—is particularly challenging in aged and deteriorating post-industrial urban settings, and the importance of such cities to the global economy demands that attention be focused on research and education to support this mission. Given their age, geographic locations, and complex social-ecological histories, the examination and comparison of the cities of Detroit and Baltimore in the workshop described here provided a unique opportunity for evaluation of research, education and outreach needs, and opportunities in food, energy, and water (FEW) sustainability.