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Ideology and agricultural technology in the late twentieth century: Biotechnology as symbol and substance

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  • Frederick Buttel

Abstract

The significance of biotechnology in agriculture during the late twentieth century has been as much in the realm of symbol and ideology as in its political economy. The ideological roots of biotechnology are long historical ones. The ideology of “productivism,” which was codified during mid-century out of a coincidence of interest among experiment stations, USDA, Congress, agribusiness, and agricultural commodity groups, has encountered numerous challenges since the 1970s. One of the major responses to the crisis of productionism was to forge a social definition of biotechnology as being a revolutionary technology. I conclude by discussing whether biotechnology, as both symbol and substance, is likely to be a basis for attempts to resuscitate productivism in the 1990s now that biotechnology is being demystified, its limits being appreciated, and its opposition still considerable. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 1993

Suggested Citation

  • Frederick Buttel, 1993. "Ideology and agricultural technology in the late twentieth century: Biotechnology as symbol and substance," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 10(2), pages 5-15, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:10:y:1993:i:2:p:5-15
    DOI: 10.1007/BF02217599
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Buttel, Frederick H & Kenney, Martin & Kloppenburg, Jack, Jr, 1985. "From Green Revolution to Biorevolution: Some Observations on the Changing Technological Bases of Economic Transformation in the Third World," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(1), pages 31-55, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. David Smith & J. Skalnik & Patricia Skalnik, 1997. "The bST debate: The relationship between awareness and acceptance of technological advances," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 14(1), pages 59-66, March.
    2. repec:lib:0000of:v:3:y:2017:i:1:p:20-33 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Douglas H. Constance, 2023. "The doctors of agrifood studies," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(1), pages 31-43, March.

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