AgScience-on-Tap | Social factors in agriculture

Exciting lectures (in English) and lively discussions in a relaxed atmosphere with a cool drink on Wednesday evenings: that's “AgScience-on-Tap”. In this series of events in the “Jagdzimmer” of the Furtnerbräu Freising, you will meet speakers from various fields of agricultural, nutritional and environmental sciences with changing topics. The interdisciplinary organization team from TUM and HSWT is looking forward to a large audience for exchange and networking on current research results presented and presented in an understandable way.

Agriculture is never just a matter of engineering technology, crop cultivation, or animal farming – it is always embedded in social contexts. Consumption habits, public perceptions, political debates, and ethical values shape how agricultural research is conducted and which innovations gain traction. Under the semester theme “Social Factors in Agriculture”, the AgScience-on-Tap series in Winter Semester 2025/26 explores these interactions: How do social factors influence agricultural practices and research, and how can science engage with society to address key questions for the future?

Small- to medium-scale livestock farmers in Bavaria, Germany, find themselves intrigued by the possibility of using CRISPR-Cas gene editing to improve the health of their animals. In this talk, Amy Clare provides insights from a project exploring how these farmers perceive of this technology, and the complications that arise. While some farmers were hesitant, the majority were optimistic and yearned for the possibility of using this technology. However, more pressingly, regardless of their perspective on the technology, all of the farmers in the study stressed that they would never publicly discuss this topic because of the controversial character of genetic technologies in agriculture and their precarious position as smaller-scale producers. The history of agribiotechnologies has been highly contested by the broader public, and thus has dramatic implications for how farmers can engage with gene editing and corresponding issues.
 

Dates and topics for the following talks:

• 21 January 2025, 7 pm, Dr. Mascha Gugganig (LMU): Science, Technology, and Agrifood: exploring intersections between critical agrifood studies and science & technology studies

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