Prof. Dr. Volker Beusmann
Prof. em., Technology Assessment of Modern Biotechnologies in Plant Breeding and Agriculture
Volker Beusmann was managing director of the Research Center for Biotechnology, Society and the Environment and head of its multidisciplinary research group on Agriculture and Food at the University of Hamburg. Research themes range from Technology Assessment (TA) in the narrow sense of preconditions for innovations and impacts on nature and society as well as TA in the broad frame of analysing competing and complementary innovations in technology, behaviour and institutions and evaluating steering options towards sustainable development. The challenge of dealing with conditions of complexity, pluri-values, ambiguity and uncertainty is approached by a transdisciplinary concept of integrating perceptions, knowledge, values and visions of scientists, stakeholders and citizens via participative discourses in a mode of reflexivity. He taught courses in technology assessment for students in molecular biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics and educational sciences. He gave political advice on state-, federal-, EU-, OECD- and FAO-level.
Selected publications
- Stirn, Susanne and Beusmann, Volker (2016): EU-sustainability reporting requirements – an incentive for more sustainable food retailers? In: I.A.S. Olsson, S.M. Araújo, M.F. Vieira (eds.): Food Futures – Ethics, Science and Cultures. Wageningen Academic Publishers, 484-490.
- Beusmann, Volker and Susanne Stirn (2015): Food visions revisited: organic and health foods. In: D.E. Dumitras, I.M. Jitea and S. Aerts (eds.): Know your food – food ethics and innovation. Wageningen Academic Publishers, 353-358.
- Beusmann, Volker (Organizer); Kalaitzandonakes, Nicholas G; Bijman, Jos; Phillips, W.B. PeterS (Rapporteur) (2001): Genetically modified crops: the food industry, producers, consumers, and environmentalists. In: Peters, George H.; Pingali, Prabhu (eds.): Tomorrows agriculture - incentives, institutions, infrastructure and innovations. Proceedings of the twenty-fourth International Conference of the International Association of Agricultural Economists held at Berlin, Germany 13-18 August 2000, Report on the Discussion Group Meetings on August 14, 15, and 16. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 683-685.
- Beusmann, Volker (1996): Sustainable development in agriculture and forestry. In: "The Contribution of Science and Technology to the Development of Human Society", European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research (COST, ed.), Office for Official Publications of the E.C., Brüssel, 1996, CD-ROM.
- Beusmann, Volker und Salomon Wald (1992): Economic Impacts. In: OECD (Ed.), Biotechnology, Agriculture and Food, Paris 1992, 165-201.