Sunday, June 08, 2014

Two recent articles of Glenn Davis Stone

I was not aware of this aspect, the role of Ayurveda and Kerala Chief Minister in blockin BT brinjal
The Trials of Genetically Modified Foods by C. Kudlu and G.D.Stone. Abstract:
"Although planting of genetically modified (GM) crops has topped 148 million ha. worldwide, direct consumption ofGMfoods remains extremely rare. The obstacles toGM foods are highly varied and they can provide windows into important cultural dynamics. India’s heated controversy over its would-be first GM food—Bt brinjal (eggplant)—is driven not only by common concerns overtesting and corporate control of food, but by its clash with the Ayurvedic medical establishment. GM brinjal may outcross with wild relatives commonly used in Ayurvedic medicine, and claims that outcrossing would not affect medical efficacy miss the point. Ayurveda emphasizes polyherbal treatments and has developed an epistemology oriented towards complex combinations of compounds. As such it does not recognize the authority of specific studies of transgene effects. The conflictis notwith genetic modification per se, but with the reductionism that is central
to the biotechnology approvals process. This opposition has played a significant role in the government moratorium on the plant."
But now, it has entered Bangladesh through USAID.
The second about the herd behaviour of Warangal BT cotton farmers in seed selection in the face of unknown technology Rhythms of the herd: Long term dynamics in seed choice by Indian farmers by Stone, Flacks and Diepenbrock. But as the authors note, there is an exceptional case in Gujarat described earlier by Stone(See also the Salon article Andrew Leonard The Napster pirates of trangetic Biotech). More article by Glenn Davis Stone on these topics at http://artsci.wustl.edu/~anthro/blurb/gds-abridged.htm

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