Need 'social' in the Food Science and Research Priority

Recently Prof Rachel Ankeny contributed to a commentary on the Science and Research Priorities announced by the Federal Government.

The commentary, "Australia has a big role to play in feeding the world" published in The Conversation, offers a range of perspectives on the Food priority. In her section, Rachel highlights the need to see agriculture as more than just the production of food, and the need for social research to address key agricultural challenges:

Agricultural communities face challenges to their resilience, in part due to threats to their “social license to operate”. Sectors of the public are increasingly anxious about contemporary agricultural practices and their potential impacts on health, animal welfare and the environment.

They view efforts to make agriculture more efficient and sustainable as in conflict with historic shared values underlying traditional and small-scale family farming.

Hence the call to develop production capacity requires scrutiny not just as a technical problem, but in its broader socio-cultural context. “Sustainable” can refer to environmental, economic, and/or social sustainability. “High intensity” production, and especially novel technologies, are frightening to many and may continue to erode their trust in the food system.

Education alone is not sufficient. Understanding of technological and scientific issues associated with agriculture involves a mixture of values, attitudes, and knowledge.

Many opportunities exist if we read between the lines of the priorities about the types of research and ingenuity that are required to meet the challenges: social science is needed.