Science, technology, agri-food systems, health, and wellbeing: logic, dynamics, and relationships

Abstract

The agri-food sector worldwide is the most important for life. The recent pandemic made it clear that the best way to resist, overcome and adapt to health problems is by maintaining a healthy, adequate and balanced diet. Currently, food comes almost entirely from agri-food systems, the problem is that the agri-food sector subordinated to an economic and scientific model with very clear interests and objectives. In this sense, the aim of this work was to carry out an analysis of the logic, dynamics and relationship between science, technology, agri-food systems, health and wellbeing from the perspective of Social Studies of Science and Technology. With what is intended contribute to the debate on the future and the strategic transformation of agri-food systems. As a first point, an exploration of the evolution and trends of science and technology in the agri-food sector is carried out. Next, an analysis is developed on the importance of agri-food systems and the ways in which they have been configured. Subsequently, the relationship between food and health and the main implications and damage caused by the current agri-food regime are addressed. Based on the above, some alternatives are proposed to improve nutrition, health and wellbeing. These alternatives imply, on the one hand, a profound reconfiguration of technological systems, orienting them toward the reproduction of life. Secondly, and as a consequence of the above, a reorganization of the economic and social systems. To achieve this, it is advisable to design a policy that promotes sustainable agri-food systems and integrate broad work and research groups that allow addressing these problems and proposing alternatives from different perspectives. Finally, it is important to design and implement science dissemination programs on the relationships, controversies, tensions and problems that exist between scientific and technological development and the agri-food sector, health and wellbeing with the aim of having a true impact on the society and a genuine social appropriation of knowledge.