From the editor

Authors: Harvey S James

Publish Date: 2012/10/04

Volume: 29, Issue: 4, Pages: 437-440

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Abstract

The complexity of the agrifood system is widely recognized by scholars policymakers and the general public It has also been a recurring theme in papers published in Agriculture and Human Values In fact writing in the very first issue of this journal Kunkel 1984 p 21 noted the following “Agriculture has grown from a primary basic sector of the economy to a secondary technical sector with complex joint interactions with the rest of the economy” More recently Jaffe and Gertler 2006 p 147 observed that the “agrofood system has become so complicated that even some actors in the chain have little understanding of what other parties are doing”A system is complex if it is “composed of many interconnected parts” and is “so complicated or intricate as to be hard to understand or deal with” Dictionarycom nd Our agrifood system is without doubt more interconnected and complicated today than it was 100 years ago Such complexity has produced a host of difficult problems for farmers consumers communities and the environment Any regular reader of this journal should be able to generate a healthy list of specific problems and concernsAccording to conventional wisdom simple problems need only simple solutions while complex problems require complex solutions If the agrifood system is complex then we may expect that problems generated by that complexity will be difficult and complicated as well and probably even wicked see for instance Whyte and Thompson 2012 Should we be critical of those who propose or who adopt simple solutions even when such solutions omit or obscure important considerations If we do then we will have to implicate ourselves because everyone follows simple rules of behavior when more complicated options could be identified and implemented In this context “simple” refers to actions or behaviors that allow only a limited range of options and include “instincts habits routines rules of thumb administrative procedures customs norms and so forth” Heiner 1983 p 567There are many examples within the agrifood system of decisions and behavior driven by simple rules We define obesity by measuring body mass index ratio of body mass in kilograms to the square of height in meters even though a combination of weight age physiology genetics and other considerations determine a person’s unique optimal body fat We blame WalMart McDonald’s and Monsanto for our agrifood system woes even though the agrifood system is by definition a combination of numerous interrelated and interdependent parts We eat the same foods and shop in the same stores walking the same aisles in the same pattern even though other foods may be less expensive or other stores may provide more nutritious food options We plant the same crops in the same fields in the same rotations each year even though a greater variety of crops would be more environmentally friendly or provide farmers with a greater opportunity to tap new markets or expand into entrepreneurial valueadded projects For better or worse we are creatures of habit see Carlisle 2006“You need to know an amazing amount about our food system and about nutrition to make intelligent choices but most of this information is anything but obvious It is not supposed to be obvious Supermarkets have one purpose and one purpose only to sell food and make a profit and as large a profit as possible Your goals are more complicated you want foods that are good for your health but you also want them to taste good to be affordable to be convenient to eat and to reflect social values that you might care about In theory your goals could overlap with the normal business interests of supermarkets After all they do sell plenty of inexpensive convenient tasty foods that are good for you But in practice you and the supermarket are likely to be at crosspurposes” pp 6–7 emphasis in originalOther behavioral rules might not be good For example a characteristic of conventional pest control methods in farm production is to spray pesticides according to a predetermined schedule eg monthly This is a practice that is simple to understand and implement but one that is widely recognized as harmful to the environment and to human health and that has contributed to pesticide resistance of insects and the problem of resurgence of pest infestations Ekström and Ekbom 2011 A more complicated but environmentally friendly approach is based on principles of integrated pest management IPM However IPM adds “a degree of complexity to pesticide use” Ekström and Ekbom 2011 p 75 because it is difficult to learn and requires “considerable forethought and knowledge” Hipkins 1997 including knowledge of insect biology and soil ecologyAn important question to consider is why consumers farmers and other participants in the agrifood system continue to adhere to routines habits and behavioral rules rather than adopt relatively more complex decision solutions when it can be shown that they and others can be better off doing so Responding that people don’t have the time or don’t care begs the question of why not Do we need to make people more aware of or give them more information about the consequences of their decisions I suggest that a lack of awareness and inadequate information are not the problemI recently revisited a paper written by Ronald Heiner which provides an interesting insight into this issue I consider the paper an underappreciated classic As a side note I took an intermediate microeconomics class from Professor Heiner as an undergraduate student and I remember the lectures he gave on this paper In fact I still have my notes from that class which I reviewed as I worked on this essay

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