International Journal of Science and Technology (IJST)

Veterinary and Zootechnics as Cultural Governance: A Toulminian Argument for Designing Modes of Life

This article advances four linked claims about culture, modes of life, and the professional responsibility of the médico veterinario zootecnista (MVZ, Spanish to name the veterinarian and zootechnist). Using Toulmin’s argumentation pattern, it argues (1) that both human and animal cultures develop historically in relation to their respective modes of life; (2) that the MVZ functions as a designer and administrator of modes of life for companion animals and their owners, productive domestic animals, and managed wildlife; (3) that this positions the profession as a consequential actor in global cultural development; and (4) that this responsibility should be exercised through a welfare-centered stance that is democratic and community-oriented, aligned with One Health/One Welfare and with participatory practices. The resulting framework reframes veterinary zootechnics as cultural governance: the ethically guided design of socio-material conditions that shape learned practices, welfare outcomes, and public goods.