Julie Guthman
Julie Guthman
Sociology Department, UCSC; AFTeR Project
Website
Julie Guthman holds a PhD in geography (UC Berkeley, 2000) and is a professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she conducts research on food system transformation in the US. Her 2019 book, Wilted: Pathogens, Chemicals, and the Fragile Future of the Strawberry Industry, was the recipient of the 2020 American Association of Geographers Meridian Award for outstanding scholarly work in geography. Her publications include three multi-award winning monographs, an edited collection, and over fifty articles in peer-reviewed journals. Most recently, she has been the principal investigator of the UC-AFTeR Project, a multi-campus collaboration investigating Silicon Valley’s recent forays into food and agriculture. Her forthcoming book, The Problem with Solutions: why Silicon Valley Can’t Back the Future of Food draws on this research.
Briefly describe your work with agtech and explain what motivates you to invest your time in this work.
The AFTeR project investigates the assumptions, motivations, and imaginaries, as well as cultural and political economy context, of Silicon Valley’s forays into food and agriculture. I have focused more on the food side than agriculture side
I’ve long been interested in efforts to transform food and agriculture. I find the Silicon Valley approach interesting, if generally off base. It amuses me.
Briefly explain any commitments to sustainability that you or your organization bring to your work on agtech innovation. Be as specific as possible regarding what kinds of social and environmental impacts you aim to produce, and the relevant strategies you are pursuing.
interested in finding better treatments for soil, plants, animals etc not improving productivity or efficiency. Not clear what digital can add to that.
hope our research impels entrepreneurs and their supporters to be more humble, reflexive and attuned to history in developing “solutions”.
Briefly describe the way(s) in which you assess/measure social and environmental impact in your work on agtech innovation.
Trying to observe a changing zeitgeist.
Our research and this workshop aim to investigate tensions between the demands/imperatives of the tech-finance industry and the demands/imperatives of social-environmental problem solving. Please comment on this problem frame in general, and in relation to specific examples from your own experience.
The demands/imperatives of social environmental problem solving have been subsumed by Silicon Valley culture and its demands for immediate impact, profitability, and sexiness. They tend to overlook already existing approaches that haven’t received nearly the support.
To investigate the tensions suggested above, we rely on the concept of “mission drift”. We understand mission drift as a tendency for social and environmental impact commitments of individuals and organizations to leak out over time due to pressures and opportunities to expand revenue, valuation and capital gains. Our project aims to investigate mission drift applied to entrepreneurial ventures as well as to organizations dedicated to supporting innovation. Please comment on this thesis in general, and in relation to specific things you have experienced where possible. To the extent you find this thesis useful, what strategies can you identify to defend against mission drift?
Sounds good, but do consider that “triple bottom lines” are often part of the mission.
Please share something you would like to take away from the workshop.
Won’t really be able to participate, but if I could I’d want those involved in innovation to take seriously the concerns of critical social science.