Category Archives: Education

Education

“What is a good life for animals?”

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Last week 65 students Animal Science have been dealing with this question during the course ‘Animal Science in Society’ (RSO 11303). We used David Fraser’s book ‘Understanding Animal Welfare. The Science in its Cultural Context’ (2008) as guidance. David Fraser describes three concepts for animal welfare, i.e. what entails  ‘a good life for animals’ : a) a healthy life, b) a natural life, c) a happy life. The three concepts are not mutually exclusive, but overlap. Moreover, they often don’t go together, they are in conflict.

In groups of 6 students per group, the students worked on this question to get familiar with the concepts and to learn to apply these. Each group answered the question for a specific animal in a specific environment. “What is a good life for…?” …a dairy cow at a commercial farm? …a rabbit at home? …a rat at a laboratory? …an elephant in a circus? …fattening pig at a commercial farm? …a rabbit at a farm for meat production? …a fish in a fishbowl? …a laying hen at a commercial farm? …a mink at a farm for fur production? …a cat at home?

The students had to present their answers in a creative way. Well, one can leave that up to Animal Science students! You-tube movies about ‘Youp van ‘t Hek’s ‘Flappie’’, chips-eating cats, home-made movies about the ideal life for laying hens, a performance with students as rabbits and one group even designed a completely new mink production system with mink welfare as departure point!

The presentations as well as the discussions showed that the answer to this question is not as clear-cut as it may seem. Instead, the answers vary according to the animal species and their functionality. The functionality of the animal refers to the function the animal has for humans, for example food production, company, aesthetics, entertainment and testing medication. In some situations, the animal’s function harms its welfare so much, that the function itself is being questioned.  For example, a large majority of the students held the opinion that elephants should not be kept in circuses. In their opinion, the elephants’ welfare is harmed too much – as they are kept in a very unnatural environment – in comparison to the benefit for humans – entertainment. However, students were less unanimous when it comes to use of animals for food production, for example about the welfare of fattening pigs. There was one group of students who held the opinion that the welfare of fattening pigs was fine as long as the pigs were healthy. In their eyes, conventional production systems did not harm pig welfare. On the other hand, there was a group of students who considered conventional production systems too ‘unnatural’. They preferred organic farming systems which give space to more ‘naturalness’ and ‘happy pigs’.

The latter example also illustrates that in addition to the animal’s functionality, personal experiences, values and convictions play a role when defining a good life for animals. Hence, the answer to this question also varies among (groups of) people. Finally, the definition of animal welfare varies according to the social and cultural context in which it is defined and used.

Thanks to the original and enthusiastic input of the students, it was a creative and interesting closure of a week about animal welfare, in which the students could get familiar with present-day social and scientific questions (see former blog) about animal welfare!

Mogelijke Msc Thesis via Wetenschapswinkel

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Achtergrond informatie

De Koekelt is door zijn samenwerking met maatschappelijke organisaties steeds meer midden in de maatschappij komen te staan en heeft besloten om van een gesloten volkstuincomplex te gaan veranderen naar een open multifuntioneel tuinenpark. Met ingang van 15 September 2011 dienen op het complex De Koekelt de acviteiten te worden beëindigd. In het voorjaar 2012 kunnen de tuinders weer aan de slag, maar dan op een tuincomplex in parkse0ng. De Koekelt maakt als volkstuincomplex deel uit van het Peppelensteeggebied in Ede, een sterk versnipperd door de stad omsloten groengebied. De tuinders van De Koekelt kenmerken zich door een zeer grote diversiteit en vormen een afspiegeling van onze multiculturele samenleving. De verschillen in cultuur zijn terug te zijn in het beheer van de individuele tuinen. Helaas moet er geconstateerd worden dat het veranderingsproces naar een multifunctioneel tuinenpark niet breed gedragen wordt door de tuinders van de Koekelt. De mensen betrokken in het veranderingsproces zijn geen afspiegeling van de multiculturele diversiteit aanwezig op het tuinenpark.

Onderzoeksvraag

VAT-Ede wil graag een onderzoek naar hoe de betrokkenheid van alle tuinders te versterken op de tuin De Koekelt. Daarnaast willen ze graag weten of en welke rol er is weggelegd voor de omringende wijkbewoners van de tuin, zodat de tuin een duidelijker plek gaat in nemen in het stedelijke groenaanbod in Ede. Naast de activiteit wandelen, zou je kunnen denken aan snoeien, imkercursussen, natuur en milieueducatie en nog vele andere vormen van medegebruik afhankelijk van de interesses die er is.

Dus ben je geinteresseerd in een Msc Thesis over social learning, sociale integratie, stadslandbouw en multifuctioneel ruimtegebruik en wil je een directe maatschappelijke impact tot stand brengen, neem dan contact op met de Wetenschapswinkel: hansje.eppink@wur.nl

Master thesis possiblity on Insect Food Acceptance

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As the world population is growing and increasingly urbanising – the UN (2009) predicts 69% of the population to be living in cities by 2050 – the question of how to feed the world is becoming critical. Meat consumption is more and more the focal point in debates about worldwide environmental degradation, food security in developing countries and health costs in developed countries. Momentum is building around the topic of insects as alternative protein source in the Western world and in the Netherlands more in particular (see the recent article in the NY Times).

Lots of research in bio- and food technology is currently taking place on insect protein, yet, it is unclear if and how consumers will accept the various possible foods from insects. At the moment, insects are not regarded food and responses of disgust are common in the Netherlands. Disgust responses may indicate a food taboo and a deeper culturally bound rejection which may form a barrier for the acceptance of radical innovations.

The Research

This Master thesis opportunity will focus on the cultural level that informs or interferes with the acceptance of insects as food. The thesis research possibility is part of a larger interdisciplinary collaboration between the chairgroups of Rural Sociology, Management Studies and the Agricultural Economics and Rural Policy group on food culture, institutional adaptation and consumer acceptance of insect food.

The student will work within the interdisciplinary team and take part in the development of a theoretical framework. From the hypothesis formulated the student will develop a survey in order to gather empirical data on people’s willingness or rejection regarding insect food. Fieldwork will be done in various cities in the Netherlands depending time and resources.

There is space for more than one student, and for each student to do its own independent research. More information; petra.derkzen@wur.nl

Thesis possibility in Zambia

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International Development Enterprises (IDE), in collaboration with Wageningen University and Research Centre and the University of Zambia, will assess the gender differentiated impact of low cost drip irrigation technologies on small scale farmers in Zambia. More than 50% of these farmers are women.

As in many countries, Zambia is a male-dominated society and women can be marginalized in accessing information, technologies and natural resources. Men and women living in the same household have different roles, responsibilities, and access to resources, as well as separate incomes and expenditures. The literacy and knowledge levels also vary and lead to a differentiation in the capacity of men and women to adopt new technologies and agronomic practices.

The Research

Household case studies will be developed and employed on basis of MSc research on the impact of the introduction of small-scale irrigation technology on gender relations that was conducted in 2010. Two in depth household cases will be investigated using an exploratory questionnaire, followed by in-depth interviews. Focus group discussions (with men and women apart) on the benefits and burdens after technology adoption will be held. Through intensive contact with these farmers, the most relevant issues for the target group (female farmers) will be identified; i.e. the obstacles and problems that they face on a day to day basis.

Financial support

The project can to some extent contribute to the students’ research and travel costs.

Contact Els Hegger for more information.

Rural regional learning in the Comarca de Verín, Galicia, Spain

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Within the European research project DERREG, we are investigating how public policy can best be arranged to stimulate capacity building within development initiatives operating at grassroots level in rural areas across the European Union.

To find out how public policy interventions can best be arranged, we and our research partners have spoken to various stakeholders in different rural regions across the European Union to find out how they intend to support and facilitate learning and innovation and- most importantly- how the support and facilitation agreed upon is actually provided to the grassroots development initiatives. To find out what is working well and what isn’t working well yet, we have spoken to a number of grassroots development initiators in the participating DERREG case study areas and ask them to evaluate the current support and facilitation received.

To be able to compare the results obtained in the different case study areas, I have travelled to Alytus County, Lithuania in October and Oberlausitz, Germany in December of 2010. In January of this year, I was able to visit our colleague Lola Dominguez Garcia of  Universidade de Vigo in the Comarca de Verín in the South-West of Galicia, Spain. In this blog, we intend to share our experiences. Continue reading →