Political Actors on the Landscape

Abstract

The introduction of novel foods and crops into the developing world triggers different reactions from different political actors. Quite often, the patterns of response in developing countries run parallel to policy debates in rich countries, reflecting the close relationships that still can be found between government ministries, companies, and NGOs in rich countries and their subordinate partners in the developing world. In general, the strongest supporters of novel foods and crops will be scientists, agricultural ministries, and the private companies trying to sell the new technology. The strongest skeptics are likely to be NGOs claiming to speak for the poor, as well as environmental ministries. If the novel foods and crops are GMO varieties, the patterns of local support will be much weaker, and the opposition is likely to be broader and significantly stronger.