Overview

Genetic engineering has a wide range of cultural, economic, and ethical implications, yet it has become almost an article of faith that regulatory decisions about biotechnology be based only on evidence of specific quantifiable risks; to consider anything else is said to politicize regulation. In this study of social protest against genetically engineered food, Abby Kinchy turns the conventional argument on its head. Rather than consider politicization of the regulatory system, she takes a close look at the scientization of public debate about the contamination of crops resulting from pollen drift and seed mixing. Advocates of alternative agriculture confront the scientization of this debate by calling on international experts, carrying out their own research, questioning regulatory science in court, building alternative markets, and demanding that their governments consider the social and economic impacts of the new technologies. Kinchy focuses on social conflicts over canola in Canada and maize in Mexico, drawing out their linkages to the global food system and international environmental governance. The book ultimately demonstrates the shortcomings of dominant models of scientific risk governance, which marginalize alternative visions of rural livelihoods and sustainable food production. The hardcover edition does not include a dust jacket.

Full Product Details

Author:   Abby J. Kinchy
Publisher:   MIT Press Ltd
Imprint:   MIT Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.10cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.340kg
ISBN:  

9780262517744

ISBN 10:   0262517744
Pages:   240
Publication Date:   14 August 2012
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock  
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Reviews

Abby Kinchy brings to life the struggle taking place around the world against transgenic crops and the companies that market them. In a richly contextualized study she describes the strategies and motives of activists in Mexico and Canada and provides valuable insights into the issues involved. Seeds, Science, and Struggle successfully integrates social movement studies and the politics of science and technology. --Andrew Jamison, Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University In this lively and well-written book, Abby Kinchy takes us into the heart of the intense political struggles generated by the introduction of transgenic organisms in Mexico and Canada. By focusing on government and industry efforts to confine public debate to the singular realm of science-based risk, Kinchy reveals the unstable nature of global politics around agricultural biotechnology and shows how the failure to address the far broader social, cultural, economic, and environmental implications these technologies raise has come back to bite these would-be narrowers with a vengeance. --Rachel Schurman, University of Minnesota; author of Fighting for the Future of Food Abby Kinchy revisits the scene of several key episodes in the long-running debate over agricultural biotechnology and GMOs. Her interviews fill in many crucial details on the perspective, goals, and motivations of important actors in the Mexican maize and Canadian canola disputes over the contamination of farmers' fields, and her treatment of the issues is both insightful and even-handed. I really enjoyed reading this book. --Paul B. Thompson, W.K. Kellogg Professor of Agricultural, Food and Community Ethics, Michigan State University

Author Information

Abby Kinchy is Assistant Professor in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and coeditor of Controversies in Science and Technology: From Maize to Menopause.

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