Recent trends in agriculturalresearch and development emphasize the need forfarmer participation. Participation not onlymeans farmers' physical presence but also theuse of their knowledge and expertise.Understanding potentials and drawbacks of theirlocal knowledge system is a prerequisite...

An evaluation was made of theassociations between self-reported healthconscious consumerism, body-mass index (BMI),and consumer beliefs, attitudes, intentions,and behaviors regarding sustainably producedfoods. Self-administered surveys were completedby adult consumers (n=550) in...

Farmers of the Peruvian Andesmake use of seed-size variation as a source offlexibility in the production of ``nativecommercial'' farmer varieties of Andeanpotatoes and ulluco. In a case study of easternCuzco, the use of varied sizes of seed tubers isfound to underpin versatile farm...

In Norway, the production andconsumption of organic food is still small-scale. Research on attitudes towards organic farming in Norway has shown that most consumers find conventionally produced food to be “good enough.” The level of industrialization of agriculture and the existence of food...

Farmers' relationship with nature isdetermined by the significance of agriculturefor human beings. When agriculture is definedas human activity that uses renewable naturalresources and aims to produce usable food andfiber products, agriculture is explicitlydefined as production. Farmers'...

Diverse opinion papers related tothe question whether environmental benefits canbe achieved by the herbicide resistancetechnique have been published. But onlylong-term and large-scale field tests usingdifferent weed control methods and additionalagricultural vegetation surveys make itpossible to...

It is important to understandfactors that influence management decisionsthat determine the level of diversificationwithin cropping systems. Because of the widevariety of cropping systems within a region,our study focused on a single county (Marshall)in northwestern Minnesota. This county...

This study of a wealthy soybeancooperative in central Brazil shows howglobally ambitious institutions promotethemselves as regional organizations. Manystudies of cooperatives focus on their abilityto provide material improvements in the livesof cooperative members and to the locality inwhich...

Research explored methods for “shortening the food links” or developing the “local foodshed” by connecting farmers with food service buyers (for restaurants and institutions) in Colorado. Telephone interviews were used to investigate marketing and purchasing practices. Findings include...

Social capital, measured as the level of trustamong people, may be regarded as a newproduction factor alongside the traditionalones of human and physical capital. Withappropriate levels of social capital,monitoring and transaction costs can be savedand thus economic growth stimulated. Vialinking...