Session: Responsible Research and Innovation and Animal-based Food Systems: From the Lab to the Meat Production Unit (Sun, December 11, 12:30 to 2:30am EET)
Chair/Session Organizer: Stathis Arapostathis, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Sophia Efstathiou (Norwegian University of Science & Technology): Recognise, Replace, Refine: 3Rs for sustainable meat-use as guides for Responsible Research and Innovation
Sebastian Billows (INRAE, IRISSO) & Marc-Olivier Déplaude (French National Institute for Agricultural research): Scientific Intermediation in the Emergence and Implementation of Animal Welfare Standards: The Case of the European Ban on Sow Stalls
Stathis Arapostathis (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens): Placing values in the design of meat production in Greece: Tracking material entanglements, path dependencies and responsibility
ABSTRACT: Contemporary policy priorities of EU Farm to Fork strategy have placed animal welfare centrally in the management of food transitions. The aim of this paper is to explore values as the key dimensions in understanding sociotechnical transformations in animal husbandry in Greece. The paper seeks to answer two interlinked questions: 1. Have material entanglements impacted on the reproduction and continuation of ways meat production characteristic of the industrialized mode of production? And following from this: 2. Have path-dependencies contributed in providing a specific frame in the conceptualization of sustainability and set boundaries in making responsibility and responsible design of sociotechnical systems as a matter of concern? Focusing on the cases of chicken and pig production the paper will show a. the material entanglements and sociotechnical path dependencies in meat production in Greece the last fifth years, b. the social and political setting that shaped the emergence of an emphasis on sustainable production and the environment the last five years, c. the possibilities of developing a more integral and inclusive “responsibility by design” approach in the regime of meat production. The concept of “responsibility by design” has been introduced by Stahl et al (2021) to stress that RRI approaches should go beyond specialized and specific projects. We argue that to address the issue of long-term impact of responsible innovation in meat production must address existing limitations and the boundaries build by path dependencies. The paper is based on research conducted in archives relevant to poultry and pig production in Greece the last fifty years. Published materials from expert bodies, reports by expert committees and commercial publications of industrial actors are analyzed. Selected interviews also have been conducted with actors from the industry and the research community.