Theme 30: Socioeconomics of Pastoral Development
Description
In the title for this paper we find three major objectives: to feed the world, sustain the environment and provide resources for social purposes, and a dilemma. Even though the word ‘dilemma’ usually implies choice between undesirable alternatives, it is obvious that the alternatives here are not undesirable. Is the dilemma then, that we can only do one at the time, or that the consequences of favouring one over the other can lead to undesirable outcomes? It is my opinion that we are talking about the latter interpretation. It is the foreclosing of options by allowing one objective to dominate that concerns us and that poses a dilemma. How large this dilemma is depends on what we see the possibilities to be of using natural resources, i.e. grasslands in our case, to achieve all three objectives simultaneously.
Citation
Meister, A. D., "Dilemma: Increase in Human Food Production or Use of Grasslands for Environmental and / or Social Purposes" (2022). IGC Proceedings (1997-2023). 1.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/19/30/1
Included in
Dilemma: Increase in Human Food Production or Use of Grasslands for Environmental and / or Social Purposes
In the title for this paper we find three major objectives: to feed the world, sustain the environment and provide resources for social purposes, and a dilemma. Even though the word ‘dilemma’ usually implies choice between undesirable alternatives, it is obvious that the alternatives here are not undesirable. Is the dilemma then, that we can only do one at the time, or that the consequences of favouring one over the other can lead to undesirable outcomes? It is my opinion that we are talking about the latter interpretation. It is the foreclosing of options by allowing one objective to dominate that concerns us and that poses a dilemma. How large this dilemma is depends on what we see the possibilities to be of using natural resources, i.e. grasslands in our case, to achieve all three objectives simultaneously.
