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First published on February 5, 2008, doi:10.1177/0162243907306697

Science, Technology & Human Values 2008;33:480.

A more recent version of this article appeared on July 1, 2008
 © 2008 SAGE Publications

Article

"Doing" Reflexive Modernization in Pig Husbandry: The Hard Work of Changing the Course of a River

Bram Bos1* and John Grin2

1 Animal Sciences Group of Wageningen University and Research Center, and University of Amsterdam
2 University of Amsterdam

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bram.bos{at}wur.nl.


  Abstract
The Dutch animal production sector faces significant pressure for change. We discuss a project for the design of a sustainable husbandry system for pigs. Named after the Greek hero Hercules, the project aimed for structural changes in both animal and crop production. However, instead of changing the course of the river, the project ended up merely adapting its flow. The Hercules project ran into difficulties typical for projects aiming at reflexive modernization. It relapsed from an effort for reflexive modernization to ecological modernization, by ultimately leaving the structural features of the sociotechnical regime intact. We show how this resulted from the biases and limitations implied by existing institutions, in which the project was unavoidably embedded. We introduce the idea of reflexive design, as "doing" reflexive modernization, which implies working on action and structure at the same time. A number of recommendations are given for reflexive design projects like this.


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