Talk of genetically engineered organisms (GEOs) has moved from the hushed corridors of life science corporations to the front pages of the world’s major newspapers. As Europeans began rejecting genetically engineered foods in the marketplace, the StarLink corn incident exploded in the United States and farmers set fire to genetically modified crops in India. Citizens and consumers have become increasingly aware of and troubled by the issues surrounding these new technologies. Considering cases from agriculture, food, forestry, and pharmaceuticals, this book examines some of the most pressing questions raised by genetic engineering. What determines whether GEOs enter the food supply, and how are such decisions being made? How is the biotechnology industry using its power to reshape food, fiber, and pharmaceutical production, and how are citizen-activists challenging these initiatives? And what are the social and political consequences of global differences over GEOs?
Rachel A. Schurman is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. She is the coauthor of Taking Population Seriously (1988) and Betraying the National Interest (1987). Dennis Doyle Takahashi Kelso is Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
"This collection is a comprehensive approach in two senses: in capturing the institutional, social, and cultural dimensions of biotechnology, and in emphasizing the contingencies of biotechnology stemming from power relations within the industry and within society at large."—Philip McMichael, author of Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective
"Engineering Trouble addresses an important and timely issue of significant interest to social scientists and policy makers. The authors cover the range of political, economic, social, and moral forces which are both shaping and being shaped by this new technology."—William Lacy, coauthor of Plants, Power, and Profit: Social, Economic, and Ethical Consequences of the New Biotechnologies
325 pp.6 x 9Illus: 3 line illustrations, 3 tables
9780520240070$34.95|£30.00Paper
Oct 2003