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Material and Symbolic Forces in the Evolution of Regulatory Institutions of Agrobiotechnology: A Case Study About Brazil

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Abstract

The wide and complex range of technologies produced and used in the contemporary societies has challenged the analysis from the different fields of social sciences. In this sense, in order to elaborate a study that aim at understanding the relationship between technological progress and the ongoing institutional changes that mark the capitalist societies, we believe it is necessary to adopt an interdisciplinary approach combining methodologies from Economics and Sociology fields. Therefore, this study proposes the development of an interdisciplinary dialogue between the economic sociology of Pierre Bourdieu and the evolutionary economics developed by authors such as Giovanni Dosi, Sidney Winter, Richard Nelson and Bhaven Sampat. In doing so, we intend to demonstrate that a theory guided by Marx’s historical materialism, as it is the case of evolutionary economics, can be enriched by a materialist theory of symbolic, such as that of Pierre Bourdieu. In searching the comprehension of the complementarity between material and symbolic forces, this study addresses the conflictual process surrounding the formulation of the regulatory institutions to the biotechnology sector in Brazil over the last two decades. More precisely, through a case study, we seek to demonstrate that the convergence of discourses and interests between prestigious scientific organizations and the multinational companies that control the agrobiotechnology industry has been relevant to allow this new technological paradigm to make progress. Finally, we raise some questions concerning this alliance between business and science and the conflicts that revolve around the rapid expansion of the genetically modified crops worldwide.

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Notes

  1. Available at: <http://powerbase.info/images/4/4a/Book_anbio1.pdf> Access in: 15-03-2015.

  2. Basf and Bayer are from Germany; Monsanto, DuPont and Dow are from the United States; Syngenta is from Switzerland. It is important to highlight that Syngenta emerged from the fusion of the agricultural divisions of Novartis and AstraZeneca, in 2000.

  3. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/us/food-industry-enlisted-academics-in-gmo-lobbying-war-emails-show.html?_r=0. Date of access: 15/12/2015.

  4. Available at: http://memoria.ebc.com.br/agenciabrasil/noticia/2003-11-14/dizendo-nao-uma-nova-tecnologia. Date of access: 10/12/2015.

  5. Available at: http://politica.estadao.com.br/noticias/geral,lei-da-biosseguranca-cientistas-protestam-no-congresso,20031209p36675. Date of access: 10/12/2015.

  6. Available at:.http://www2.camara.leg.br/proposicoesWeb/prop_mostrarintegra;jsessionid=FDF3007B3D5D2CF461D2F022ACC30253.proposicoesWeb1?codteor=407404&filename=Tramitacao-RIC+4020/2006. Date of access: 15/12/2015

  7. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691512005637. Date of access: 15/12/2015.

  8. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691512008022. Date of access: 15/12/2015.

  9. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691514002002. Date of access: 15/12/2015.

  10. Available at: http://croplife.org/news/massive-economic-boost-from-biotech-cotton/. Date of access: 02/01/2016.

  11. Available at: http://biotechbenefits.croplife.org/impact_areas/environmental-benefits/. Date of access: 02/01/2016.

  12. Available at: http://biotechbenefits.croplife.org/impact_areas/safety-health-benefits/. Date of access: 02/01/2016.

  13. Available at: http://biotechbenefits.croplife.org/impact_areas/socio-economic-benefits/. Date of access: 02/01/2016.

  14. Available at: http://www.nature.com/news/case-studies-a-hard-look-at-gm-crops-1.12907#/b15. Date of access: 02/01/2016.

  15. Available at: http://aspta.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/DossieAbrasco_2015_web.pdf. Date of access: 02/01/2016.

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Acknowledgments

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Associação Nacional de Biossegurança (ANBio) and the interviewees.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Economia, Campus da Praia Vermelha, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Pasteur, n. 250, Andar Térreo. URCA, Rio de Janeiro, 22290-902, Brazil

    Francisco José Mendes Duarte

  2. Departamento de Economia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Avenida Purdue s/n. Campus Universitário, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36571.900, Brazil

    Evaldo Henrique Silva

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  1. Francisco José Mendes Duarte
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  2. Evaldo Henrique Silva
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Correspondence to Francisco José Mendes Duarte.

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Duarte, F.J.M., Silva, E.H. Material and Symbolic Forces in the Evolution of Regulatory Institutions of Agrobiotechnology: A Case Study About Brazil. J Agric Environ Ethics 29, 909–929 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-016-9638-3

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