Postdoctoral Researcher position Toxicities in Industrial Greenhouse Agriculture - Meertens

Briefly, VITALGREENHOUSE project aims to investigate greenhouse industrial agriculture in the Netherlands and Spain, as sites embedded within a long history of human-environment relations, integrating questions of landscape exploitation, digitalization, mobilities, and human and non-human labor. The project seeks to generate new critical perspectives on planetary transformations and advance theoretical debates in critical infrastructure studies, multispecies relations, and decolonial thought.

The postdoctoral researcher will conduct a detailed ethnographic study in greenhouse horticultural landscapes in the Netherlands and Spain. Greenhouses have become a focal point of public concern regarding toxicity, particularly in both countries, where European industrial agriculture is most concentrated. Growing unease centers on the toxic effects of pesticides used in these areas. The public debate is often framed in oppositional terms; on one side, greenhouse growers emphasize their adherence to legal limits for pesticide use based on food safety regulations; on the other, critics highlight ecological and health consequences. These polarized debates reveal deeper tensions between economic interest, food security, and concerns about ecological and public health.

During the twentieth century, dominant toxicological thinking held that “the dose makes the poison,” supporting cost-benefit approaches that assumed risks could be minimized by keeping concentrations below established thresholds. This paradigm is now challenged from within the scientific community. Eco-toxicologists emphasize that the problem lies not only in the individual chemicals but in the combined and cumulative effects of legally permitted low-dose concentrations. Pesticide traces extend far beyond the sprayed crops and greenhouse walls – they have been detected in birds and eggs, household dust, present in breast milk and used diapers, and even on doormats. These mixtures are understood to interfere with the biological functioning of both human and non-human bodies, suggesting that exposure occurs through everyday practices such as breathing, eating, and skin contact with contaminated surfaces or materials.

The following are essential:

• A doctorate diploma in a relevant field within the social sciences such as Social and Cultural Anthropology, Human Geography or Political Ecology. The degree must be obtained by the time of application;
• Experience with publishing in scientific journals;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English;
• Oral communication skills in Dutch and Spanish.
• Excellent communication skills, organizational skills, and collaboration skills;
• Previous demonstrable experience in ethnographic research;
• Independent thinking and strong analytical skills;
• A commitment to academic integrity and transparency;
• Availability to travel to Spain for fieldwork.

The following are desirable:

• Affinity with the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS).
• Commitment to or previous engagement with topics related to agricultural transitions, sustainability, political ecology, and multispecies ethnographies.

Depending on education and experience the minimum salary is €4537,00 and the maximum salary is €5013,00 gross per month for a full-time appointment (scale 11, maximum increment 3; cao Nederlandse Universiteiten/KNAW). This is exclusive of 8% vacation allowance, 8.3% year-end bonus, travel allowance, internet allowance, home working allowance and pension accrual with ABP.

The KNAW offers its staff an excellent package of secondary benefits. A package that meets the different needs of employees depending on their stage of life, lifestyle or career ambitions. For example, by working an extra two hours a week, it is possible to increase the number of days off from 29 to 41 days a year (with full-time employment).

For a complete overview of the terms of employment, please refer to the web page: werken bij de KNAW.

Applying for a Certificate of Good Conduct can be part of the employment procedure.

The Meertens Institute, together with the International Institute of Social History and the Huygens ING, is part of the KNAW Humanities Cluster. This is a partnership in which research in the humanities (history, ethnology, literature, linguistics) is carried out using advanced methods, in which computer science plays an important role.

The Meertens Institute is a national institute for research and documentation of the Dutch language and culture, and language and culture in the Netherlands. It consists of the research groups Ethnology and Variational Linguistics, both of which hold leading positions in international research on everyday language and culture.