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The Red de Semillas Libres : Contesting Biohegemony in Colombia
Author(s) -
Gutiérrez Escobar Laura,
Fitting Elizabeth
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of agrarian change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.63
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1471-0366
pISSN - 1471-0358
DOI - 10.1111/joac.12161
Subject(s) - cognitive reframing , commodification , technoscience , intellectual property , sovereignty , narrative , ethnography , sociology , food sovereignty , political science , social science , agriculture , law , economy , anthropology , biology , economics , food security , ecology , psychology , social psychology , linguistics , philosophy , politics
The Red de Semillas Libres (Network of Free Seeds) in Colombia contests the expansion of, and dominant narratives on, agricultural biotechnology and intellectual property rights (IPRs) protections on seed – or what has been called ‘biohegemony’. We argue that despite its challenges, the Network contests ‘biohegemony’ through lawsuits, supporting ‘seed sovereignty’, and reframing the often taken‐for‐granted discourse on local seed varieties as raw material and a resource to be ‘discovered’, ‘invented’ and commodified by industry and Western‐based technoscience. Based on ethnographic research, we extend the concept of biohegemony to include struggle and contestation by examining how the Network pursues seed sovereignty.