> From: "LUANNE LOHR (FACULTY)" <LLOHR@agecon.conner.uga.edu>
> To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu
> Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 09:16:43 EDT
> Subject: Reply to Philip Rasmussen
> Cc: tpark@agecon.conner.uga.edu
> Priority: normal
> X-Mailer: PMail v3.0 (R1a)
>
> In response to Dr. Rasmussen's commentary about the appropriateness
> of material for the sustainable agriculture network:
>
> After working on topics related to sustainable agriculture in four
> different land grant institutions, for the State Dept of Food and
> Agriculture in California, and with researchers at the Swedish
> University of Agricultural Sciences, I must disagree with the
> comments about the value of issues discussion on SANET. For years, I
> have heard the same arguments put forward by "influential" people
> regarding the need to ignore commentary in favor of "facts." This
> arises over and over in environmental, food safety issues and
> biotechnology issues. My observation is that these people turn out
> not to have as much "influence" as they thought, mainly because they
> ignore the public policy, psychology, sociology and economics of the
> technologies they seek to foster. These people can sometimes be
> found in an agency or a university, still bemoaning the loss of the
> good old days when scientists talked and the public listened (and
> believed).
>
> As a scientist (after graduating B.S. in agronomy I worked as a lab
> tech in agronomy, and have graduate coursework in soil chemistry as
> well as my graduate degrees in agricultural economics), a former
> extension specialist, and an avid reader on history and philosophy of
> science, I firmly believe there is no such thing as unbiased science.
> Choice of method, data interpretation, even the research questions to
> be asked are influenced by educational training, personal values and
> ethics. There is no real problem with this, as long as every
> scientists recognizes that such bias exists and acknowledges that
> there are other ways to view each problem we tackle.
>
> My concern is that we only talk technique and result, but forget
> about why we are working on the problem to begin with. The public
> has as much right to provide input on the scientific process and
> future direction of research as any expert or "very influential"
> person. We experts are hired to look further into the future,
> identify needs for that time and work on behalf of a broader
> public to make current and future problems go away, but to do this we
> must hear what people right now are saying about their needs. And,
> frankly, many people at land grant schools, as well as in the
> government, ignore this, saying the average person's perceptions are
> not valid because they go against "scientific fact." It would be a
> more positive response to acknowledge those concerns, and try to
> address what exactly causes the credibility gap, rather than
> continually throwing back "facts" and "credentials" of experts and
> failing to communicate.
>
> I found the exchange between Lara Wiggert and Basil Eastwood (with
> comment by other sanetters) quite enlightening from a public policy
> standpoint. I hope there are more exchanges that deal with policy
> issues, and more pointedly with the "facts" - and who decides which
> set of "facts" is appropriate for this network.
>
> In sympathy with Dr. Rasmussen and those he claims to represent, I am
> sorry that public policy discussion is not neater and cleaner. Yes,
> it can be downright frustrating. However, it is NOT enough to know
> the "facts" - how does one know they are the *right* facts? A
> technology can only work in a social context; if society reject the
> technology, it disappears. It seems that everyone, from extension
> field staff to university researcher to USDA branch chief, can learn
> what it is people (remember our "clientele"?) care about. The
> problem with SANET right now is that it does not reach enough of
> these "others." Since we cannot separate science from the world and
> social context in which it must exist, why should we separate our
> discussion of sustainability from those it is going to affect? And,
> why should we separate our facts from the discussion of where they
> came from and what value they have? To do so is to risk even greater
> loss of support for technologies that are going in the wrong
> direction.
>
> Lastly, regarding Dr. Rasmussen's concern about wanting sustainable
> agriculture to become "mainstream," how can it become mainstream if
> it does not "enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a
> whole" (U.S. Congress, 1990 Food, Agriculture, Conservation and
> Trade Act, Title XVI, Research, Subtitle A, Section 1603)? Of
> course there are going to be public policy disagreements about what
> is best for farmers AND society. Scientists, perhaps more than
> anyone, need to be aware of the concerns and disagreements that
> arise, not run away because they fear controversy and conflict. We
> no longer have the luxury of speaking from on high, and we better get
> used to it.
>
> It eludes me how this network can remain "holistic" if we ignore
> society in some paternalistic (or maternalistic) gesture to do what's
> best for them without consulting them. Average citizens might not
> have training to perform the research or extend the results to large
> groups, but they can give us feedback on our research and tell us
> what they think we should be working on. Without advocating knee-jerk
> responses to the problem of the week, I believe we do have
> a responsibility to listen.
>
> And now, I'm prepared to do just that. You can send a personal
> response to me at llohr@agecon.conner.uga.edu.
>
> Regards,
>
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> Luanne Lohr
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> ____________________________________________________________________
>
> Dept. of Agricultural & Applied Economics Phone: 706-542-0847
> Room 312A Conner Hall University of Georgia FAX: 706-542-0739
> Athens, GA 30602-7509 e-mail: llohr@agecon.conner.uga.edu
>
>
Lyra Halprin
Senior Writer
UC Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program
Davis, CA 95616
(916) 752-8664
lhalprin@ucdavis.edu