Market coordination and the making of conventions: qualities,consumption and sustainability in the agro-food industry

Abstract

The coordination of activity across sites and spaces of production and consumption is a key concern for economic analysis. Joining a revival in the application of convention theory to agro-food scholarship, this paper considers complementary insights – related principally to ‘the economy of qualities’ – that animate different aspects of e/valuation, competition and alignment. These understandings are extended by more thoroughly acknowledging contemporary developments in consumption scholarship. The arguments are advanced through a case study of the orange juice market, linking its current high-carbon trajectory to the commercial and cultural significance of freshness. The analysis offers new insights into distributed processes of qualification as well as the mechanisms through which conventions are assembled and sustained. Finally, a more integrated approach to food production and consumption is outlined.     

Chemical Contamination of Soft Drinks in Sealed Plastic Bottles by Environmental Stress Cracking

Abstract:  A contamination of soft drinks in sealed bottles by organic solvents is reported: closed bottles full of soft drinks were accidentally placed on a cardboard soaked with thinner and the organic fluid subsequently fissured the bottom of the bottles and penetrated into the soft drinks without any apparent leakage of the soft drinks. Experiments were carried out to simulate the process: the penetration of different organic solvents into soft drinks through the bottom of closed bottles was tested. The penetration occurred only when the closed bottles contained carbonated soft drinks (CSD), indicating that inner pressure is a necessary condition for the fissuring of the bottles. This paper discusses environmental stress cracking of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles by organic solvents and migration of chemicals to CSD. Experiments were conducted to determine the conditions in which PET can be permeable to poisoning organic products.     

我国食品安全委员会的构建

我国食品安全监管体制缺乏规范有效的协调机制,监管部门的职能定位模糊不清,中央与地方关系有待进一步厘清。应借鉴美国、日本的食品安全监管制度,结合新近颁布的《食品安全法》和即将成立的国家食品安全委员会,完善我国食品安全监管的配套制度。     

应对金融危机策要

由美国次贷危机引发的全球金融危机,已经波及到实体经济;要分析原因寻找对策,关键的前提在于树立信心、沉着应对。尤其要做好国内的事情,科学发展,又好又快发展,才是战胜危机、立于不败之地的根本。     

从特产、食俗歌看浙江饮食文化

独具江南水乡平原、海岛特色的地理环境,孕育了浙江“饭稻羹鱼”的生产、生活方式。“饭稻羹鱼”构成了浙江饮食文化的典型基础特征。各地广为流传的特产、食俗歌从不同层面展示了浙江地域特色的饮食结构、饮食习俗和民俗生活。这些特产、食俗歌不仅是我们研究、传承和弘扬浙地传统饮食文化的史料,也是拓展以地方食文化为主题旅游的精美广告。     

新时期我国粮食安全问题研究

粮食安全是国家安全战略的重要组成部分,是保持国民经济健康、持续、快速发展的重要保障。影响我国粮食安全的主要问题多种多样,必须在认真分析的基础上加以解决。确保我国粮食安全的主要对策是要适应新形势,树立新型粮食安全观念;要切实保护耕地,提高农民种粮积极性;因地制宜,不断优化粮食生产的区域布局;以农业科技为支撑,不断提高粮食综合生产能力;深化粮食流通体制改革,建立新型粮食流通体系;加强粮食宏观调控,确保国家粮食安全。     

Participation rationales,regulatory enforcement,and compliance motivations in a voluntary program context

This article extends the study of regulatory compliance motivations from “traditional” regulatory settings to a government-sponsored voluntary one. We argue that the rationale(s) which motivate participants to engage a voluntary program likely shape which motivations drive them toward (or away from) program compliance. Our study examines the possible influence of program participation rationales alongside that of regulatory agents' enforcement styles and strategies. Leveraging a national survey of certified United States Department of Agriculture organic producers, we find that the more a producer pursues organic certification to increase profits, the more likely they are to report deterrent fears as an important compliance motivation. In contrast, the more a producer becomes certified to support the organic movement, the more heavily they weigh a personal sense of duty to comply. We discuss the implications of these, and other, study findings for compliance motivations theory and voluntary program integrity.     

谈转基因食品标签制度与消费者知情权的保护

转基因食品的标签制度在国内外引起了广泛的争论。文章从保护消费者知情权的角度分析了我国现行转基因标签制度实施过程中存在的一些问题,并提出了我国应采用加贴强制性否定标签的制度。     

食物、制度与规训——基于近代浙东地区孤儿院的分析

孤儿院肩负教与养的双重职责，在饮食层面尤其着重对孤儿的规范和训诫。一方面，孤儿院通过官方或民间的多种渠道募集粮食和其他食物，维持最基本的运转，其日常食物带有鲜明的地域特征，同时又体现了中西融合。另一方面，各孤儿院的经济水平制约着饮食水平，产生了差异化的食制。值得注意的是，孤儿院在进餐制度上会对孤儿进行有意识的训练与强化，通过对空间、时间以及饮食进程来规训孤儿的外在行为，以培养他们最终成为适应社会的人才。     

新世纪我国食品安全合作监管的发展逻辑与绩效评估

21世纪以来,我国政府对食品安全合作监管的关注度不断提升。食品安全合作监管经历了不断深化的四个阶段:合作探索期、合作形成期、合作快速发展期与合作战略深化期。发展历程呈现出三种演进逻辑:从机构林立到机构优化,从制度供给不足到趋于完善,从散、孤、小到大数据治理。对食品安全合作监管绩效的探索性评估发现,食品安全的水平在一定程度上得到了改善。未来还应从积极推进大监管,塑造合作型公共行政文化,放权与能力建设双管齐下、吸纳多元主体参与合作等方面着力,持续推进食品安全合作监管有效运转。