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The Economic Hegemonization of Bt Cotton Discourse in IndiaMichigan State University yamaguc3{at}msu.edu
Michigan State University Among the various transgenic crops being researched and developed for India, Bt cotton is the only crop commercialized at present. Social actors in various professions and positions have been expressing their expectations of what will or will not happen if agrifood biotechnologies are or are not commercially introduced. In their discourse, these social actors have identified diverse and complex issues extending from questions of equity (how the benefits of commercialization will be distributed between growers in different social and economic strata, and how the environmental or health risks will be distributed and redistributed among different groups in the population) to questions of development (how to improve agricultural productivity so as to meet the growing food demands, and how to maintain national autonomy in agricultural technology). This article explores the discourse concerning Bt cotton in India by examining the interpretations advocated by various social actors. The concept of frame is used to analyze the content of print media and interviews. Analysis of the Bt cotton discourse shows that the dominant actors have shifted over time away from government and industry officials and toward farmers, and that the dominant frame has shifted over time from governmental process to economic impact.
Key Words: agricultural development • agrifood biotechnology • Bt cotton • discourse analysis • farmers • frame • governance • Gujarat • India • social actors
Discourse & Society, Vol. 15, No. 4,
467-491 (2004) This article has been cited by other articles:
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