The Role of 'Place' in Conflicts over Agricultural
Biotechnology
Christopher R. Henke, PhD, Director of the Upstate Institute at Colgate University
ABSTRACT
Though agricultural biotechnology has captured a significant market share for crops
such as corn, cotton, and soy, especially in the United States, the technology continues
to be controversial through much of the world. This paper explores that paradoxical role
of "place" as an axis of conflict over biotech crops---while the history of agricultural
technologies over the last century or more have largely focused on controlling the
contingencies of place in agriculture, such as differences in climate, fertility, and pests,
controversies over biotech crops continue to highlight the importance of farming places
as sites for debate over the appropriate use of the technology.
BIOGRAPHY
Christopher R. Henke is Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Upstate Institute
at Colgate University. He has research and teaching interests in science and technology
studies, food and agriculture, and environmental studies. Henke is the author of Cultivating
Science, Harvesting Power: Science and Industrial Agriculture in California (MIT Press 2008).
th
8 Annual NYS Biotechnology Symposium
- May 19 & 20, 2016 -