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Beyond the Science of Agricultural Biotechnology Corporate Technology, Law, and Local Control Over Food Production

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Beyond the Science of Agricultural Biotechnology Corporate Technology, Law, and Local Control Over Food Production BEYOND THE SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY CORPORATE TECHNOLOGY, LAW, AND LOCAL CONTROL OVER FOOD PRODUCTION Gabriela Pechlaner M.A., University of British Columbia, 2002 B.F.A., University of British Columbia, 1990 DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Department of Sociology and Anthropology O Gabriela Pechlaner 2007 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2007 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Gabriela Pechlaner Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title of Dissertation: Beyond the Science of Agricultural Biotechnology Corporate Technology, Law, and Local Control over Food Production Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Dorothy Chunn Professor of Sociology Dr. Gerardo Otero Senior Supervisor Professor of Sociology Dr. Karl Froschauer Supervisor Assistant Professor of Sociology Dr. Murray Rutherford Supervisor Assistant Professor of Resource and Environmental Management Dr. Marjorie Griffin Cohen Internal Examiner Professor of Political Science Dr. Jack R. Kloppenburg, Jr. External Examiner Professor of Rural Sociology University of Wisconsin-Madison Date Defended: May 30,2007 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution. on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the "Institutional Repository" link of the SFU Library website cwww.lib.sfu.ca> at: ~http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/l892/112>) and, without changing the content, to translate the thesis/project or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. While licensing SFU to permit the above uses, the author retains copyright in the thesis, project or extended essays, including the right to change the work for subsequent purposes, including editing and publishing the work in whole or in part, and licensing other parties, as the author may desire. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Revised: Summer 2007 SIMON FHASEK UNIVEHSI'I'Y THINKING OF THE WORLD STATEMENT OF ETHICS APPROVAL The author, whose name appears on the title page of this work, has obtained, for the research described in this work, either: (a) Human research ethics approval from the Simon Fraser University Office of Research Ethics, (b) Advance approval of the animal care protocol from the University Animal Care Committee of Simon Fraser University; or has conducted the research (c) as a co-investigator, in a research project approved in advance, (d) as a member of a course approved in advance for minimal risk human research, by the Office of Research Ethics. A copy of the approval letter has been filed at the Theses Office of the University Library at the time of submission of this thesis or project. The original application for approval and letter of approval are filed with the relevant offices. Inquiries may be directed to those authorities. Bennett Library Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada Lmt revisan Summer 2007 ABSTRACT Within ten years of their adoption in the mid- 1990s, new agricultural biotechnologies have instigated dramatic physical and proprietary changes to agriculture in both the United States and Canada. A growing number of highly contentious lawsuits between farmers and agricultural biotechnology companies indicate that such changes may be socially revolutionary to agricultural production. Building on political economy and food regime perspectives, this dissertation asks to what extent the proprietary aspects of these technologies are reorganizing production in these countries, and what effect, if any, such reorganization has on the amount of control producers have over agricultural production. The answer is derived through four case studies involving lawsuits over genetically modified seeds-two in Mississippi, United States, and two in Saskatchewan, Canada. Each of the two case study regions includes an analysis of court documents and interviews with 35-40 litigants and broader stakeholders. My findings indicate that while many producers feel the technology provides immediate benefits to their individual agricultural production, the social reorganization resulting from the existing legal framework is reducing producers' control over their production process in many important ways, and suggest long-term concerns over such expropriation. This effect is more pronounced in Mississippi than in Saskatchewan. I argue that political economy of agriculture scholarship needs to be updated to incorporate this new legal element into its conceptual toolkit, which currently focuses on capital accumulation strategies in production and processing, not through legal mechanisms. Further, the case studies provide evidence that local acts of resistance, legal and otherwise, are having an impact on the nature and extent of the technology's adoption in both regions. Therefore, the food regime perspective-a historical and geopolitical conceptualization of the advance of capitalism specific to food-needs to be amended to adequately take into account the role of activities within nations, such as in the legal arena, and their effect on the shaping of the global food regime. I argue that the shape of this regime is contingent on contested features, and concerns over declining state autonomy in global agriculture need to be qualified accordingly. Keywords: agriculture; biotechnology; political economy; food regime; lawsuits; technology. Subject Terms: Agricultural biotechnology; Agricultural biotechnology-Social aspects; Genetic engineering-Social aspects; Agricultural innovations; Technology-Social aspects. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My thanks and appreciation go to my supervisor, Gerardo Otero, for his assistance and sincere interest in my academic well-being. Particular thanks are due for the opportunities to collaborate and gain those much needed publication credits. Karl Froschauer and Murray Rutherford, the members of my dissertation committee, have also been of invaluable support. Special thanks to Karl for his uncanny skill at asking the right questions and to Murray for his understated legal expertise and persnickety grammatical insight. Thank you all for being a supportive team. I would also like to thank the SFU department of sociology more broadly. My interactions with faculty there as a whole have been positive and supportive. The value of such a productive learning environment cannot be understated. Thanks are due to the Social Science and Humanities Research Council for the two years of doctoral funding. Without this funding, I most likely would not have been able to travel and gain as much insight about Saskatchewan and Mississippi as I was able. Thanks are also due to the SFU writing centre for its assistance with my application. I would like to thank the many interviewees who agreed to talk with me and shared some of their valuable time, sometimes during their busiest season. The people of Saskatchewan live up to their reputation of being kind and decent folk. Mississippians no less so. In Mississippi, I was met with invaluable assistance not only from individuals, but from agricultural institutions as well. Special thanks are due to members of the Mississippi Farm Bureau and the Mississippi Agricultural Extension Service for putting me in contact with a number of farmers. Many people in both of these regions went far beyond giving their time, and generously extended their hospitality. Particular thanks are due to those involved in the litigation that forms the basis of my case studies. Speaking with anyone in the course of litigation is an exercise in trust, and I sincerely appreciate the efforts of those who were willing to engage in this way. I have tried to present the positions of all those involved ethically and honestly, and hope I have been successful in doing so. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family for their endurance and support during this long and expensive process. I won't mislead you into thinking anything is ever 'over' in academia, but at least an important hurdle has been leapt, with your assistance. Thank you. TABLE OF CONTENTS . Approval ............................................................................................................................
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