Evolving trends in Latin American politics of biotechnologies: delving into the “GM soya model” in Argentina

Our interest is to understand the challenges to modern science and innovation regimes under conditions of globalization and “multiple modernities” (Eisenstadt 2000). Different scholarly attention has been paid to existing institutions that may no longer be adequate to address those challenges. This may be because modern institutions are pressured for a greater reflexive opening up of their structures (Beck and Lau 2005) or because the modern world-system is facing severe turbulences that would ultimately lead to a time of structural dissolution (Wallerstein 2005). This renders it interesting to trace the responses to these challenges, and we suggest doing it in the field of STS. Our ongoing multi-level comparative research takes Latin American countries as an entrance point to finding responses that are different from those occurring in European countries.
Our presentation is based on Argentina and it focuses on biotechnology in agriculture. Argentina today is the second largest exporter of GM crops and it has been the first country in Latin America to establish a professional regulatory framework in the early 1990s. GM soya crop is specifically analysed because of its importance — more than 60% of the cultivated areas — and its controversial aspect : it is presented at the same time as an elixir for agro-industrial ills and as a techno-economic network increasing the benefits of the global North while dramatically affecting public health and the environment. We suggest diagnosing developments and perceptions of issues related to health, economy, ecological diversity, fertility of soils, regulation and intellectual property.