Epistemic brokerage in the bio-property narrative: contributions to explaining opposition to transgenic technologies in agriculture

Herring, Ronald J.

doi:10.1016/j.nbt.2010.05.017

Cited by 14 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(39 reference statements)

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“…A number of political economy models have been developed to analyze policies related to the introduction of GE crops in more detail considering two or more lobby groups (e.g., Graff et al, 2009;Swinnen and Vandemoortele, 2010) and the role of media (Vigani and Olper, 2014 anti-genetically modified organism (GMO) strategy has been a successful fundraising strategy for environmental lobby groups such as Greenpeace or Friends of the Earth. The role of anti-GMO lobby groups and their strong influence on decision making, particularly in developing countries, has been well described by political scientists (e.g., Paarlberg, 2008;Herring, 2010). Lobby groups with capital stocks at risk in the face of agricultural innovations use the political systems to protect their interests (Graff et al, 2013).…”

Section: The Real Option Model Of Perceived Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The economic power of the Golden Rice opposition

2014

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ABSTRACT. Vitamin A enriched rice (Golden Rice) is a cost-efficient solution that can substantially reduce health costs. Despite Golden Rice being available since early 2000, this rice has not been introduced in any country. Governments must perceive additional costs that overcompensate the benefits of the technology to explain the delay in approval. We develop a real option model including irreversibility and uncertainty about perceived costs and arrival of new information to explain a delay in approval. The model has been applied to the case of India. Results show the annual perceived costs have to be at least US$199 million per year approximately for the last decade to explain the delay in approval of the technology. This is an indicator of the economic power of the opposition towards Golden Rice resulting in about 1.4 million life years lost over the past decade in India.

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Section: The Real Option Model Of Perceived Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The economic power of the Golden Rice opposition

2014

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“…A third aspect consists of allegations leveled against MMB's GM cotton, such as causing livestock death due to usage of the restricted patented gene (GURT) - termed the “terminator” by the Canadian NGO Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) (Herring, 2009; 2010; 2012). In March 1998, RAFI uncovered the development of this terminator technology by the American firm Delta and Pine Company with the financial assistance from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).…”

Section: A Succinct Chronology Of Bt Cotton In Indiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, she and Navdanya have not ceased making accusations with regard to farmer-suicides (Shiva & Jalees, 2006; Navdanya, 2012). The following excerpt from “Resources, Rights and Regulatory Reform” illustrates her continued accusation (Shiva, 2006: 86; see also Herring, 2010: 616):…”

Section: The Seed Monopolisation Debatementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Had Monsanto employed the technology, the Bt. gene would not have been used in the 1990s to hybridize with indigenous cultivars, and Indian farmers would not have replanted the saved “terminator” seeds (Herring, 2007b; 2010). Farmers have replicated the transgenic seeds because, unlike the hybrid seeds produced with two distinct parental lines, these Bt.…”

Section: The Seed Monopolisation Debatementioning

confidence: 99%

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Farmer-suicide in India: debating the role of biotechnology

Thomas

Tavernier

2017

Life Sci Soc Policy

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Indian Biotech opponents have attributed the increase of suicides to the monopolization of GM seeds, centering on patent control, application of terminator technology, marketing strategy, and increased production costs. The contentions of the biotech opponents, however, have been criticized for a lack of transparency in their modus operandi i.e. the use of methodology in their argumentation. The fact is, however, that with the intention of getting the attention of those capable of determining the future of GM cotton in India, opponents resorted to generating controversies. Therefore, this article will review and evaluate the multifaceted contentions of both opponents and defenders. Although the association between seed monopolization and farmer-suicide is debatable, we will show that there is a link between the economic factors associated with Bt. cultivation and farmer suicide. The underlying thesis of biotech opponents becomes all the more significant when analysed vis-à-vis the contention of the globalization critics that there has been a political and economic marginalization of the Indian farmers. Their accusation assumes significance in the context of a fragile democracy like India where market forces are accorded precedence over farmers’ needs until election time.

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“…It has been noted that policy processes embraced in advanced economies particularly EU and USA has significantly shaped public opinion and regulation in most African countries (Newell, 2003). EU for instance has been associated with advocacy groups opposing biotechnology introduction even in regions where food security challenges persist (Herring, 2010;Paarlberg, 2001Paarlberg, , 2008. Other analysts have further explored the problem more broadly and have added that a more holistic approach to biotechnology debate is needed to embrace the context that varies with regions, localities and social preferences (van Zwanenberg et al, 2008;Glover, 2010).…”

Section: Political Nature Of Biotechnology Regulation: An Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Bumpy Path Towards Knowledge Convergence for Pro-Poor Agro-Biotechnology Regulation and Development: Exploring Kenya’s Regulatory Process

Kingiri¹

2012

Biotechnology - Molecular Studies and Novel Applications for Improved Quality of Human Life

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use the term biotechnology to mean the manipulation of living organisms to produce goods and services useful to human. I make distinction between traditional (or conventional) and modern biotechnologies. The traditional approach allows the development of new products (such as seed varieties) by the process of selection from genetic material already present within a species, while the modern (transgenic) approach develops products (such as seed varieties) through insertion of genetic material from different species into a host plant. These products are popularly known as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).

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Epistemic brokerage in the bio-property narrative: contributions to explaining opposition to transgenic technologies in agriculture

Cited by 14 publications

References 25 publications

The economic power of the Golden Rice opposition

The economic power of the Golden Rice opposition

Farmer-suicide in India: debating the role of biotechnology

The Bumpy Path Towards Knowledge Convergence for Pro-Poor Agro-Biotechnology Regulation and Development: Exploring Kenya’s Regulatory Process

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