AbstractsAnthropology
Farmers' local ecological knowledge in the biotech age : a multi-sited ethnography of fruit farming in the Okanagan Valley
| Institution: | McGill University |
|---|---|
| Department: | Department of Anthropology. |
| Degree: | MA |
| Year: | 2006 |
| Keywords: | Fruit growers – Okanagan River Valley (B.C. and Wash.) – Attitudes.; Fruit – Genetic engineering – Okanagan River Valley (B.C. and Wash.); Fruit – Breeding – Okanagan River Valley (B.C. and Wash.); Traditional ecological knowledge – Okanagan River Valley (B.C. and Wash.) |
| Record ID: | 1775673 |
| Full text PDF: | http://digitool.library.mcgill.ca/thesisfile99572.pdf |
Abstract
In this Master of Arts Thesis in Anthropology I examine the controversy in the Okanagan Valley over the introduction of GM seed technologies into local agricultural processes. I explore via a multi-sited ethnography how local fruit farmers in this region view GM seed technologies and their perception of how these technologies will impact their farming practices. I argue that (a) the use of GM seeds as currently regulated in Canada threatens to erode farmers' local knowledge of plant breeding and that (b) this erosion is of consequence not only to local farmers but to society generally because the environmental knowledge and skills possessed by local farmers is crucial to the protection of biodiversity, environmental sustainability, and food security.
