Lawrence Busch

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.

New! Improved? The transformation of the global agrifood system

The last decade has witnessed a dramatic rise in global trade in food and agricultural products. While much analysis has focused on the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in this process, we argue that other forms of regulation are of far greater consequence. In this paper, we examine changes in the agrifood system made possible by the WTO and we assess the rise of global private standards. We argue that the new global rules, regulations, and institutions implemented by the WTO have facilitated the ability of the private agrifood sector to consolidate and expand internation- ally. Of particular importance is the growing influence of food retailers as they rapidly become more global and oligopolistic. The article concludes that today it is the private sector, and retailers in particular, together with private standards that are at the center of the transformation of the global agrifood system.

The moral economy of grades and standards.

Although they are ubiquitous, grades and standards are usually considered to be merely convenient technologies for organizing and regulating markets so as to reduce transaction costs. In contrast, in this paper it is argued that grades and standards are part of the moral economy of the modern world. Grades and standards both set norms for behavior and standardize (create uniformity). Grades and standards standardize (1) things, (2) workers, (3) markets, (4) capitalists, (5) standards themselves, (6) those who make the standards, (7) consumers, and (8) the environment. Grades and standards may be established by (1) national and international governmental standards bodies, (2) industry and independent standards setting bodies, (3) industry leaders, (4) specialized standards setting bodies, or (5) purchasing agents. Who participates in setting the standards, the processes by which standards are set and what the consequences of setting the standards are have considerable impact on fundamental questions about who we are and how we shall live.

Beyond political economy: actor networks and the globalization of agriculture

This article provides a critical assessment of the traditional political economy approaches in analysis of agricultural globalization. The use of the actor network perspective is suggested to enhance our understanding of the globalization process. To illustrate the applicability of actor network theory to political economy studies, the globalization of the Canadian rapeseed (Brassica rapa and B. napus) industry is analyzed. It is shown that the globalization of the rapeseed industry proceeded through three simultaneously occurring developments: modification of relationships among people and plants; extension of rapeseed production networks; and redistribution of power, wealth and status among the actors engaged in global rapeseed production networks. Implications of the actor network approach for political economy studies are discussed.

Standards, techno-economic networks, and playing fields: Performing the global market economy

ABSTRACT This paper explores the construction of what the authors term a ‘tripartite standards regime’ (TSR) by looking at the pragmatic emergence of standards development organizations (SDOs) and national accreditation bodies (NABs). The authors explain how, through their network of audit, the TSR is entangling intermediaries and processes into specific supply chains. Moreover, they argue that the emphasis placed on the role of ‘metrology’ is overstated in the literature. Rather, the concept of ‘standards’ better captures the more complex, underlying processes involved in the construction of the TSR. They present evidence gathered through a review of data collected from SDOs’ and NABs’ websites, official documents, international trade agreements, and the directories published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the International Organization for Standardization. They argue that the TSR acts as a techno-economic network that is global in reach and serves a key coordinating role in facilitating international trade. As such they see the TSR as fundamental to the movement towards ‘governing at a distance’ that is part and parcel of the neoliberal shift from government to governance.

Performing the economy, performing science: from neoclassical to supply chain models in the agrifood sector

Abstract Callon and Hilgartner, respectively, have argued that the economy and technoscience are performed and that neoclassical economics (NE) and scientific reports should be interpreted as performances. Building on that theme, it is argued here that the ongoing transformations collectively known as globalization signal a new way of thinking about and performing both economics and technoscience: supply chain management (SCM). A comparison of SCM with NE models reveals shifts in both the theoretical focus of its proponents and the reactions of critics. Recent developments in the agrifood sector are used to illustrate the argument.

Inquiry for the public good: Democratic participation in agricultural research

In recent decades, constituenciesserved by land-grant agricultural research haveexperienced significant demographic and politicalchanges, yet most research institutions have not fullyresponded to address the concerns of a changingclientele base. Thus, we have seen continuingcontroversies over technologies produced by land-grantagricultural research. While a number of scholars havecalled for a more participatory agricultural scienceestablishment, we understand little about the processof enhancing and institutionalizing participation inthe US agricultural research enterprise. We firstexamine some of the important issues surroundingcitizen participation in science and technologypolicy. We then review and assess variousinstitutional mechanisms for participation that havebeen implemented in diverse settings by institutionsof science and technology. Based on evidence from theexperiences of these institutions, we argue that acloser approximation of the ‘public good’ can beachieved by encouraging the participation of thefullest range possible of constituents as an integralpart of the process of setting research priorities.

Learning Styles in Adult Education: A Study of County Extension Agents.

This Study explored the effectiveness of Kolbs Learning Style Inventory in identifying learning styles and implications for designing education programs for County Extension Agents in Ken tucky (N = 349) to assess its usefulness in identifying learning styles and in designing appropriate adult learning experiences. The results indicate a variety of learning styles among the population adult learning experiences. The results indicate a variety of learning styles among the population with one dominant style being identified. Despite minimal correlations between individual learn ing styles and preferences for particular educational techniques, it is contended that the inven tory provides a potentially useful framework for designing and conducting adult educational pro grams.

Differentiated Standardization, Standardized Differentiation: The Complexity of the Global Agrifood System

In recent years the production and consumption of food have become both more transnational and diversified. Concurrent with these transformations has been the increasing use of standards to differentiate both agricultural products and processes. Historically standards were understood as “natural market lubricants,” but today they are increasingly viewed as tools for competitive advantage. As the use of standards has proliferated, the need to ensure compliance has also increased. Third-party certification (TPC) is one way to ensure compliance and it is becoming increasingly prominent in the global agrifood system. This chapter examines the complex effects that the widespread implementation of standards and TPC is having on the global agrifood system. What is occurring is not simple standardization and differentiation, but rather differentiated standardization and standardized differentiation. In the first instance, whereas we have standardization, it is differentiated, as multiple options remain. For example, while TPC for food safety and quality is becoming increasingly common, what such certification means continues to have considerable diversity. In the latter case, different kinds of agricultural practices are becoming standardized (i.e., organic). That is, difference (e.g., alternative agriculture) is becoming standardized, so that it is increasingly becoming the same globally. In concluding, we argue that standardization and differentiation are both taking place simultaneously in the global agrifood system, and that analyses of the globalization of food and agriculture must begin to recognize this.

The eclipse of morality : science, state, and market

Using the works of Bacon, Hobbes, and Adam Smith as well as historical examples drawn from the last two centuries, Busch shows how the ideas initially proposed by these thinkers became reified as scientism, statism, and marketism-- systems of belief that a single mode of ordering could solve the riddle of society, and thereby supplant moral responsibility. Busch contrasts this approach with concrete examples of successful attempts to extend democracy into these areas--to create multiple orderings-- so that moral responsibility is neither crushingly heavy on individuals nor unbearably light on society.