Care Theory and "caring" systems of agriculture

Care Theory is a growing school of ethics that starts with the assumption of the relational nature of human beings. In contrast, the dominant assumption of the autonomous view of human nature has made it difficult to integrate "relational" aspects of reality into the realm of political action related to agriculture. Variables such as community attachment, community vitality and richness, and environmental "fit" cannot be incorporated into policy because such variables are perceived to be tainted by "attachment," and compromise rational judgement. Feminist agricultural theorists parallel Care Theory and have the potential of extending Care Theory to human-nature relations. Both taken together enrich each other and through that process, contribute to our understanding of the moral choices embedded in agricultural systems, particularly hog production systems, the focus of this paper. © 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers.