Abstract
The conceptual promise of relational values, theorized as the principles and virtues of human relationships (with other humans and nature), to motivate sustainability may be observed in its rapid uptake in theoretical and policy domains. Both relying on and impacting nature, agriculture has garnered attention among efforts to apply relational values. However, quantitative measures have received little focus in efforts to operationalize relational values. Guided by the assertion that sustainable agriculture is embedded with both relational and instrumental values (i.e., self-interested ends), this study considers theoretical and methodological challenges and offers a pathway to quantitatively measuring relational values within agriculture, focusing specifically on seeds—an agricultural input embedded with plural values. Drawing on 151 survey responses from seed growers in Vermont, this study assesses how relational and instrumental values are reflected among commercial and non-commercial seed growers and are associated with the presence of crop diversity in their farms and gardens. The findings show that those who sell seeds for income have significantly higher relational values, instrumental values, and crop diversity than those who do not sell seeds. Should these findings be confirmed in future studies, potential exists for policy initiatives encouraging market behavior and its governance to express a range of values beyond instrumental ones exclusively. This paper concludes by arguing that all economic exchange is likely embedded with both relational and instrumental values, meaning that policies and programs that activate a range of values will most likely maximize the impacts of the myriad initiatives pursuing sustainable agriculture.
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Abbreviations
- IPBES:
-
International Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
- GMO:
-
Genetically Modified Organism
- GM:
-
Genetically modified
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Acknowledgements
My sincere appreciation goes to the seed growers who participated in this study and who contribute to the maintenance of crop diversity, as well as Kristal Jones, Joe Ament and Carina Isbell for their critical feedback on earlier drafts. I also gratefully acknowledge the three anonymous reviewers whose thoughtful and critical feedback improved the quality of the paper.
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National Institute of Food and Agriculture,USDA Hatch # VT-H02604.
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Tobin, D. Towards quantifying relational values: crop diversity and the relational and instrumental values of seed growers in Vermont. Agric Hum Values 40, 1137–1152 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10410-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10410-6