Social Licence

[smcgrath76]

Several of the last threads have interesting overtones of the role of social licence in the discussion. The whole role of the consumer paying for different products is one thing, but the larger aspect of what society as a whole will "allow" us to do in an agricultural context is an area of special interest to me. A lot of tools such as GMOs or various production methods are either allowed or disallowed by public opinion and public action, rather than science or objective analysis. This is obviously the impact of farming in a social construct of society and being intimately tied to that society's daily success or failure.
It is interesting that as producers a lot of times we express the sentiment that we want to basically be left alone, or that we are "above the law" or because we are producing food we are "indispensible" but I think one of our weaknesses is in our ability to engage in the discussion of what is socially acceptable and why. The whole issue of sustainability is another one of these items that is emerging. Other industries have faced this as well (some more successfully than others). Good examples include asbestos, coal fired power plants, open pit mining, etc. The level of informed consent from society is irrelevant in many cases when the direction of social change is headed in a certain direction.
Just a comment, not really a question.

[burnt]

"The level of informed consent from society is irrelevant in many cases..."

Exactly. And that is why "social license" is an extreme hazard to food supply in the West.

Last summer, two non-rural woman were at our house for dinner and they were so impressed with the quality of the meal my wife prepared for us. It all came form our "conventional" farm.

After the meal we were discussing farming as it is today. They questioned some of our practices - whether we do this or that or some other hot-button issue that they might hear about on the news.

When they raised an eyebrow at some of the things we do, I replied, "The n8ice thing about this country is that if we don't like how our food is produced, we are free to grow our own."

And then, knowing that they both had homes with decent yards or lawns, I added, "And a lot of people have the good fortune to have enough room to grow almost everything they need to eat."

End of discussion.

So was I rude, or was I a realist?

[burnt]

When I say "west" I refer to Western society, not western Canada.

[perfecho]

Burnt, as I get older, we find it a satisfying and rewarding experience to raise much of our own food. Beef, chicken, turkeys; we sell some of our overage easily enough and at pretty good prices.
Friends love the taste, love that they know where it comes from, etc. But not many are ready to tear up their lawn.......they still want others to do it, and I am sure that is due to how inexpensive it is. When I grew up in the 50's and 60's, a garden, part of a steer from some relatives farm, chickens from a "plucking" fest were all part of life...because it had to be. There just wasn't much money around.
Still don't have any friends raising chickens in the city, even though it is now ok to do so....they would rather pay $4/lb to someone else.....
So, don't think you were rude at all.....

[perfecho]

Sean, perception is truth...unless we disagree with it!

[kato]

Don't underestimate the value of a garden. I sold tomatoes at the farmers market and calculate that one good plant can return 30 dollars, and sometimes more. So 25 seeds at $3.25 can generate $750 if you are a good gardener. You don't realize the value until you sell it.

It's a great place to get people's opinions on what they want for food. I learned the most important things were, knowing who grew it, whether it was sprayed, and knowing it was fresh. I was never asked about GMO foods. Chemicals were the big no no. Even though the two go together, no on made the connection.

[smcgrath76]

What I see on the immediate short list for losing their social licence in production agriculture...
Neonicitinoids
GMO and Roundup
hormone/growth implants
caged layers
ecosystem changes such as brushing and ploughing under wetlands (think more along the lines of the rules for urban developers)
Longer term will be interesting as we have technological breakthroughs and learn public relations/communications skills.

[kato]

Plus
high fructose corn syrup.
Sow gestation crates ( which are on the way out now)

[WiltonRanch]

Yes public perception now matter how ill conceived is the driver for the changes in social license. The whole hormone debate is a prime example of how misinformation fear loathing and envy from different parties is preceding sound science. We have used them for 50 years with no proof of safety concerns. The consumer is right always but an ill informed consumer can be dangerous. It's one thing for farming folks to profit off this but it's another for them to bash others in the same industry and spread unsubstantiated information to consumers. That makes our industry look bad.