Historical context
We need to educate ourselves on the historical and cultural context in which we as people and institutions operate. Soil science has historically been used as a tool of colonialism, used to suppress opposition to authoritarian regimes and evict and exploit indigenous peoples. This context raises the question of who is really benefiting from our research, and what unexpected (to us) impacts might our work be having?
Further reading The very grounds underlying twentieth-century authoritarian regimes: building soil fertility in Ittalian Libya and the Brazilian Cerrado.
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