GMOs, Organic Farming, and Sustainable Agriculture

This research examines seemingly small decisions, such as the particular seeds farmers plant, to investigate how people manage food and agriculture systems and what role larger institutions play in guiding their behavior.  This project combines quantitative demographic, economic, and biodiversity data with ethnographic detail to develop the first comprehensive study comparing the social politics of biotechnology and alternative agriculture on farms in South India. Situated at the intersection of anthropology and environmental studies, I ask how new technologies become viable, sustainable elements in daily life.  These technologies are not simply ‘better mousetraps’ for modern farmers. Instead the success of new technologies and agriculture programs depends on how farmers learn each day in their fields.

This project has been funded by the National Geographic Society, the Jacob K. Javits Fellowship, The Missouri Botanical Garden, Purdue University, the Volkswagen Foundation, and the American Institute for Indian Studies.