Conflict cloud green genetic engineering: structuring and visualizing the controversy over biotechnology in agriculture

Abstract

The use of biotechnology in agriculture is still under debate especially in Germany. The dispute shows multilayered levels including topics like climate change, consumer sovereignty, biodiversity or farmers’ dependency on the agricultural industry. Faced with such an escalating discussion, it is difficult to gain an overview of the significant controversial issues. The paper gives a summary of a qualitative content analysis of thirty information brochures criticizing the use of genetic engineering in agriculture in order to reconstruct the conflict. Since it was a main ambition of the study to present the results in a way the general public is able to understand and attracted by, the paper suggests a simple method for visualising the results of such analyses in form of a so called conflict cloud. By this means an online-presentation was developed in order to make the different aspects of the conflict understandable for non-experts. The study is part of the cooperative research project ForPlanta (www.forplanta.com). Funded by the Bavarian Ministry for Science, Research and Art, ForPlanta investigates the adaptability of plants to multiple stressors like drought, heat and pathogen as they are caused in particular by new climate conditions. The long-term aim is to improve, based on new findings and biotechnological methods, crop yield in the field.