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Cows desiring to be milked? Milking robots and the co-evolution of ethics and technology on Dutch dairy farms

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  • Clemens Driessen
  • Leonie Heutinck

Abstract

Ethical concerns regarding agricultural practices can be found to co-evolve with technological developments. This paper aims to create an understanding of ethics that is helpful in debating technological innovation by studying such a co-evolution process in detail: the development and adoption of the milking robot. Over the last decade an increasing number of milking robots, or automatic milking systems (AMS), has been adopted, especially in the Netherlands and a few other Western European countries. The appraisal of this new technology in ethical terms has appeared to be a complicated matter. Compared to using a conventional milking parlor, the use of an AMS entails in several respects a different practice of dairy farming, the ethical implications and evaluation of which are not self-evident but are themselves part of a dynamic process. It has become clear that with its use, the entire practice of dairy farming has been reorganized around this new device. With a robot, cows must voluntarily present themselves to be milked, whereby an ethical norm of (individual) freedom for cows can be seen to emerge together with this new technology. But adopting a robot also implies changes in what is considered to be a good farmer and an appropriate relation between farmer and cow. Through interviews, attending “farmers’ network” meetings in the Netherlands, and studying professional literature and dedicated dairy farming web forums, this paper traces the way that ethical concerns are a dynamic part of this process of rearranging a variety of elements of the practice of dairy farming. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Clemens Driessen & Leonie Heutinck, 2015. "Cows desiring to be milked? Milking robots and the co-evolution of ethics and technology on Dutch dairy farms," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(1), pages 3-20, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:32:y:2015:i:1:p:3-20
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-014-9515-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Hird, Myra J., 2010. "Coevolution, Symbiosis and Sociology," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(4), pages 737-742, February.
    3. Lewis Holloway & Christopher Bear & Katy Wilkinson, 2014. "Robotic milking technologies and renegotiating situated ethical relationships on UK dairy farms," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 31(2), pages 185-199, June.
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    Cited by:

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    9. Karynn Capilé & Claire Parkinson & Richard Twine & Erickson Leon Kovalski & Rita Leal Paixão, 2021. "Exploring the Representation of Cows on Dairy Product Packaging in Brazil and the United Kingdom," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-24, July.
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    12. Vicent Hernández-Chover & Águeda Bellver-Domingo & Lledó Castellet-Viciano & Francesc Hernández-Sancho, 2024. "AI Applied to the Circular Economy: An Approach in the Wastewater Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-18, February.
    13. Kaushik, Hans & Rajwanshi, Rohit, 2023. "Examining the Linkages of Technology Adoption Enablers in Context of Dairy Farming Using ISM-MICMAC Approach," Research on World Agricultural Economy, Nan Yang Academy of Sciences Pte Ltd (NASS), vol. 4(4), November.
    14. Jérémie Forney & Angga Dwiartama & Dana Bentia, 2023. "Everyday digitalization in food and agriculture: Introduction to the symposium," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(2), pages 417-421, June.
    15. Stefan Mann, 2020. "Could We Stop Killing?—Exploring a Post-Lethal Vegan or Vegetarian Agriculture," World, MDPI, vol. 1(2), pages 1-11, August.
    16. Ivanov, Stanislav & Webster, Craig & Garenko, Aleksandra, 2018. "Young Russian adults' attitudes towards the potential use of robots in hotels," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 24-32.
    17. Wolfert, Sjaak & Ge, Lan & Verdouw, Cor & Bogaardt, Marc-Jeroen, 2017. "Big Data in Smart Farming – A review," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 69-80.

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