As Grows California, So Grows the Nation: Why California Specialty Crops Are Shaping Agri-Food Technologies

• In Event: Feeding the Anthropocene: The Promises of Agro-Food Tech and the Difference Of Food - III

Abstract

California is arguably at the center of a self-proclaimed digital revolution for agriculture. As STS scholars know well, the historical contingencies of place profoundly shape technoscientific projects. Why is California so central to technoscientific projects for agriculture and how might the particularities of California agriculture be shaping their enactments? Drawing on observation at “Ag Tech” conferences and key informant interviews, I find that the materialities and political economies of California-style specialty crops (fruits, vegetables and nuts) are shaping the field in fundamental ways. First, a historic reliance on migrant labor to harvest delicate fresh foods has been undermined by rising wages and reduced migration, stimulating a race for robotic harvesting. Second, state policies ending an era of unlimited groundwater pumping and reducing surface supplies for irrigation place water efficiency tools at the center of ag analytics. Third, the relatively high profitability of specialty crop farming makes the sector inclined towards early adoption of new technologies. Fourth, the perishability and pathogen risk of fresh foods makes rigorous supply chain tracking an escalating mandate from buyers. Finally, specialty crops have higher levels of consumer scrutiny and thus are positioned by promoters as leading the way in digital technologies of transparency. For these reasons, California’s specialty crop sector is profoundly shaping the priorities, practices, and politics of the digital revolution in food production.

Author

• Emily Reisman, University of California Santa Cruz