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The decline of public interest agricultural science and the dubious future of crop biological control in California

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  • Keith Warner
  • Kent Daane
  • Christina Getz
  • Stephen Maurano
  • Sandra Calderon
  • Kathleen Powers

Abstract

Drawing from a four-year study of US science institutions that support biological control of arthropods, this article examines the decline in biological control institutional capacity in California within the context of both declining public interest science and declining agricultural research activism. After explaining how debates over the public interest character of biological control science have shaped institutions in California, we use scientometric methods to assess the present status and trends in biological control programs within both the University of California Land Grant System and the California Department of Food and Agriculture. We present available data on the number of scientific positions and the types of positions to discuss the impact on the amount of public interest research on biological control in California. We use sociograms to depict how biological control science networks have been reconfigured over time. Our quantitative and qualitative analyses indicate that the following factors contributed to the decline of biological control science in California over the 45-year period analyzed: (1) the institutional reconfiguration of university research priorities; (2) the fraying networks within and increasing specialization of biological control science; (3) the transformation of the social organization of the life science work, including privatization; and (4) the abandonment of this thematic area by civil society activist groups. This broad array of forces suggests that biological control, as a public interest science, will require a deliberate intervention, based on advocacy of clear public interest criteria. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Suggested Citation

  • Keith Warner & Kent Daane & Christina Getz & Stephen Maurano & Sandra Calderon & Kathleen Powers, 2011. "The decline of public interest agricultural science and the dubious future of crop biological control in California," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 28(4), pages 483-496, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:28:y:2011:i:4:p:483-496
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-010-9288-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Frederick Buttel, 2005. "Ever Since Hightower: The Politics of Agricultural Research Activism in the Molecular Age," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 22(3), pages 275-283, September.
    2. Mustafa Koc & Kenneth Dahlberg, 1999. "The restructuring of food systems: Trends, research, and policy issues," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 16(2), pages 109-116, June.
    3. Bruce Jennings, 1997. "The killing fields: Science and politics at Berkeley, California, USA," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 14(3), pages 259-271, September.
    4. David Campbell, 2001. "Conviction seeking efficacy: Sustainable agriculture and the politics of co-optation," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 18(4), pages 353-363, December.
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    Cited by:

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    4. Maywa Montenegro de Wit, 2022. "Can agroecology and CRISPR mix? The politics of complementarity and moving toward technology sovereignty," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(2), pages 733-755, June.

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