Abstract

ANTAL, Edit. The Interaction among Politics, Science and Society in Biotechnology: Regulating Genetically Modified Organisms in Canada and Mexico. Norteamérica [online]. 2008, vol.3, n.1, pp.11-62. ISSN 2448-7228.

This text critically analyzes agricultural bio-technology policies and the social process of developing a position to regulate genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Canada and Mexico from the point of view of the governance of science and technology and centered on the interaction of politics, science and society. To do this, the article reviews the conditions in which GMOs are introduced, the social construction of the debate, the process of legislative and legal decision making, the role the main actors play, their interests and particular perceptions, and the different concepts risk evaluation is based on. It starts with the need for a social contract for defining socially acceptable risk, which would have to be specific to Canada and Mexico, and goes on to analyze both countries’ advances, taking into consideration their specificities. The analytical focus is a combination of aspects of political economy, the social study of science, technology, and deliberative democracy.

Keywords : genetically modified organisms; bio-security; agricultural biotechnology policies; risk assessment; Canada; Mexico.