Using a critical discourse analysis (CDA), this thesis examines how risks and food security, in relation to Genetically Modified (GM) foods, are constructed within the media context. The project analyzes news articles that appeared in two Canadian newspapers, The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star, and two British newspapers, The London Times and the Guardian, during three particular time periods between 1997 and 2005. I evaluate whether or not the selected articles contribute to the public’s understanding of science, and how journalism constructs risk and uncertainty. I also evaluate the use of expert knowledge by journalists. Using the theory of Risk Society, as proposed by sociologist Ulrich Beck, the project explores the connections between political, social, and economic issues connected to globalization. This thesis concludes that journalism in both Canada and Britain does not appear to adequately inform their citizens on matters of food security and the risks of GMOs.

Diss. Linköping : Univ., 2002.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Alnarp : Sveriges lantbruksuniv. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

O uso da associação entre glifosato e atrazina para a cultura do milho geneticamente modificado tolerante ao glifosato é uma das opções de controle de plantas daninhas nesta cultura. Portanto, o objetivo principal desse trabalho foi avaliar a influência do uso desta associação em um Latossolo vermelho-escuro proveniente do bioma Cerrado do Brasil através dos ensaios de degradação e mineralização desses herbicidas, carbono da biomassa microbiana e carbono mineralizado pelo solo. Os tratamentos para os ensaios de mineralização e degradação constaram da combinação entre 14C-glifosato na dose de campo (2,88Kg ha-1) a 0, 1/2, 1 e 2 vezes a dose de campo de atrazina (3,00Kg ha-1) e 14C-atrazina na dose de campo a 0, 1/2, 1 e 2 vezes a dose de campo de glifosato. A mineralização dos herbicidas foi medida aos 0, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56 e 63 dias e a degradação aos 0, 7, 28 e 63 dias após o início do experimento. A avaliação do carbono da biomassa microbiana foi realizada aos 21 e 63 dias após o início do ensaio e foram utilizados os mesmos tratamentos com a inclusão de uma prova em branco (solo sem herbicida). O ensaio de mineralização de carbono pelo solo foi feito através da quantificação do CO2 desprendido aos 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56 e 63 dias após o início do ensaio, e também teve a inclusão de uma prova em branco. Os resultados demonstraram influência na degradação e mineralização da atrazina devido a presença do glifosato. A meia-vida de mineralização de atrazina teve uma variação de aproximadamente 100 dias quando foi comparada a aplicação individual de atrazina a associação com o dobro da dose de glifosato. A influência da atrazina na degradação e mineralização de glifosato não foi nítida. A presença de atrazina provocou queda no carbono da biomassa microbiana do solo e ocorreu um aumento na velocidade e quantidade de carbono mineralizado pelo solo. Não houve alteração no carbono da biomassa microbiana do solo e mineralização de carbono pelo solo devido a adição de glifosato. Nos tratamentos em associação, a presença do glifosato no sistema impediu a redução da biomassa microbiana devido ao efeito da atrazina. A associação entre glifosato e atrazina favoreceu a mineralização de carbono pelo solo comparada a aplicação individual de glifosato. Esses resultados demonstram a necessidade por parte da pesquisa em considerar a possibilidade de interação entre os diversos xenobióticos, o que pode alterar seus comportamentos individuais no solo. / The use of glyphosate and atrazine in association for transgenic corn tolerant to glyphosate is an option to weed control in this case. Therefore, the aim of this work was to assess the influence of this association in an Oxisoil from Brazil through the degradation, mineralization, microbial biomass and carbon mineralization of soil tests. The treatments of mineralization and degradation tests consisted of the combination between 14C-glyphosate in the field rate (2,88Kg ha-1) and 0, ½, 1 and 2 times the field rate of atrazine (3,00Kg ha-1). The mineralization of herbicides was measured at 0, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, and 63 days and the degradation was measured at 0, 7, 28 and 63 days after the beginning of the tests. The evaluation of microbial biomass was performed at 21 and 63 days after the beginning of the test and was used the same treatments of the degradation and mineralization tests, but it was included a control (soil without application of herbicides). The test of carbon mineralization of soil was done by measuring the CO2 evolved at 0,7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56 and 63 days after the beginning of the test and had the same control of the microbial biomass test. The results showed an influence on degradation and mineralization of atrazine due to the presence of glyphosate. The half-life of atrazine mineralization had a variation of about 100 days when it was compared the atrazine application alone to its association with glyphosate at double rate. The influence of atrazine in degradation and mineralization of glyphosate wasnt clear. The presence of atrazine caused decrease in the microbial biomass of soil and occurred an increase in speedy and amount of carbon mineralized by soil. No change was observed in microbial biomass and carbon mineralized by soil due to glyphosate application. In the treatments that was used the association, the presence of glyphosate in the system prevented decrease of microbial biomass due to the effect of atrazine. The association between glyphosate and atrazine favored the carbon mineralization by soil when compared to glyphosate applied alone. These results demonstrate a need to consider the possibility of interactions between several xenobiotics, wich can modify their behaviors in the soil.

Submitted by FABIANA DA SILVA FRANÇA (fabiana21franca@gmail.com) on 2018-02-01T15:49:16Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Arquivo Total.pdf: 2396297 bytes, checksum: 67ed3b1d6a12c462e89a5cafd47fe5e5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-02-01T15:49:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Arquivo Total.pdf: 2396297 bytes, checksum: 67ed3b1d6a12c462e89a5cafd47fe5e5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-08-31 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This dissertation presents the strategy of collective organization of Polo da Borborema, with reference to the promotion of agroecological practices. The production of the foods that are in the table of the Brazilians comes from the work of the peasants and, in the case of Polo, these foods are produced from the action of rescue and maintenance of the creole seeds, known in the state of Paraíba as “Sementes da Paixão”. Among the strategies adopted by Polo in order to guarantee food sovereignty, there is the creation of Community Seed Banks. The valorization of agrobiodiversity from the specificity of Polo da Borborema organization serves as the basis for the analysis of the worldwide diffusion of research development and use of Genetically Modified Organisms in agriculture. Currently, Brazil has the second largest area planted with seeds of this type, which encourages debate on agrobiodiversity. The objective of this research was to understand how the actions of Polo da Borborema focused on the valorization of agroecology and protection of agrobiodiversity have influenced the awareness of the women of Polo as to their role for the peasant family agriculture. The research was carried out between the years of 2015 and 2017, when fieldwork was carried out, in which the farmers and leaders of the union were interviewed, as well as participation in events, with emphasis on the " March for Women's Lives and for Agroecology. " The encouragement of the participation of women in the various activities organized by Polo has represented an important movement to raise awareness about their contribution to the production of healthy foods, the valorization of the "Sementes da Paixão", as well as in awakening to the collective struggle and organized by the construction of egalitarian gender relations. / Esta dissertação apresenta a estratégia de organização coletiva do Polo da Borborema, tendo como referência a promoção de práticas agroecológicas. A produção dos alimentos que estão na mesa dos brasileiros é proveniente do trabalho dos (as) agricultores (as) camponeses (as) e, no caso do Polo, estes alimentos são produzidos a partir da ação de resgate e manutenção das sementes crioulas, conhecidas no estado da Paraíba como “Sementes da Paixão”. Dentre as estratégias adotadas pelo Polo no intuito de se garantir soberania alimentar, está a criação dos Bancos de Sementes Comunitários. A valorização da agrobiodiversidade a partir da especificidade da organização do Polo da Borborema serve de base para a análise sobre a difusão mundial do desenvolvimento de pesquisas e uso de Organismos Geneticamente Modificados na agricultura. Atualmente, o Brasil possui a segunda maior área plantada de sementes deste tipo, o que fomenta o debate a respeito da agrobiodiversidade. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi compreender como as ações do Polo da Borborema voltadas à valorização da agroecologia e proteção da agrobiodiversidade têm influenciado na tomada de consciência das mulheres do Polo quanto ao seu papel para a agricultura familiar camponesa. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida entre os anos de 2015 e 2017, quando foram realizados trabalhos de campo, em que foram entrevistados (as) agricultores (as) e lideranças da organização sindical, além de ter ocorrido a participação em eventos, com destaque para a “Marcha pela Vida das Mulheres e pela Agroecologia”. O incentivo à participação das mulheres nas diversas atividades organizadas pelo Polo tem representado importante movimento de tomada de consciência das mesmas quanto à sua contribuição na produção de alimentos saudáveis, na valorização das “Sementes da Paixão”, bem como no despertar para a luta coletiva e organizada pela construção de relações de gênero igualitárias.

Genetically modified (GM) or transgenic crops, now more often called ``Biotech crops{\crqq} they are commercially cultivated since 1996. And also since 1996, the first year of commercialization of biotech crops, GM potatoes were cultivated in USA, Mexico, Canada and later in South Africa, China and India. The global area of approved biotech crops in 2006 was 102 million hectares and 22 countries grew biotech crops, 11 developing countries and 11 industrial countries. The Czech Republic is on of the six EU countries where biotech crops are cultivated at present. The most compelling case for biotechnology, and more specifically biotech crops, is their capability to contribute to: increasing crop productivity and stability of productivity and production; conserving biodiversity, as a land-saving technology; the production of renewable resource based bio-fuels. This diploma paper was focused on developing of fast, precise and cheap method based on PCR to detect the presence of transgenes in potatoes {--} tubers and leaves, allows monitoring the presence of GM potatoes in market, environment, etc. and to quantify ``contamination{\crqq} of ware potatoes (tubers) with GM ones.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-26T14:53:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CamilaMenotti.pdf: 488119 bytes, checksum: f9bc062e60f29ca4d54e972920747193 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-03-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This work presents the faunistic comparative analyses of the species of floral visitors insects, collected by manual capture means on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) crop, in two fields: the conventional non-Bt cotton crop DeltaOpal® - MDM, and the transgenic Bt-cotton crop NuOpal® Bollgard®- MDM. The experiment was carried out in the city of Maracaju, state of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Brazil. This research aimed to survey the composition of the floral visitors in the different cotton treatments, during the crop flowering period, to assess the impact of Bt cotton on the insect fauna of flower visitors. Thus, 1,310 floral visitors were captured, being 741 of them obtained on the Bt-cotton, and 569 on the non-Bt cotton. From those insects collected in the treatment Bt, were found some individuals belonging to the following Orders: Hymenoptera (24 species), Diptera (22 species), Coleoptera (14 species), Lepidoptera (12 species), and Dermaptera (1 species). On the other hand, on the non-Bt crop were obtained insects from four Orders, such as, Hymenoptera (32 species), Diptera (27 species), Coleoptera (15 species) and Lepidoptera (10 species). The species of insects were most abundant between 9h and 10h a.m, and there was a significant difference in the composition of species. The variance analysis showed that the number of species varied significantly during the flowering period, regardless of the cotton cultivars. The composition of the floral visitors species varied according to the period of flowering, and according to the cotton cultivar. The most common species were: Apis mellifera (Linnaeus, 1758), Cycloneda sanguinea (Linnaeus, 1763), Ichneumonidae Genus A sp., Scymnus (Scymnus) sp., Anticarsia gemmatalis (Hubner,1818), Heliothis virescens (Fabricius,1781), Pseudoplusia includens (Walker,1857), Pyralidae genus A sp., Eriopis connexa (Germar,1824), Diabrotica sp., Colaspis joliveti (Bechyné,1955), Hippodamia convergens (Guérin-Méneville,1842) and Allograpta exotica (Wiedemann,1830). / Este trabalho apresenta as análises faunísticas comparativas das espécies de insetos visitantes florais, coletadas por meio de captura manual em cultivo comercial de algodão Gossypium hirsutum L.. Os dados foram obtidos em um cultivar Convencional não-Bt DeltaOpal® - MDM, e um transgênico Bt NuOpal® Bollgard®- MDM, cultivados em Maracaju, Estado do Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. O objetivo da pesquisa foi verificar as diferenças na comunidade de visitantes florais entre o cultivar convencional e o transgênico durante o período de floração da cultura, para avaliar o impacto do algodão Bt sobre a fauna de insetos visitantes florais. Foram capturados 1.310 visitantes florais, 741 no algodoeiro Bt, e 569 no algodoeiro não-Bt. Dos insetos coletados no algodão Bt, foram Encontrados indivíduos pertencentes as Ordens Hymenoptera (24 espécies), Diptera (22 espécies), Coleoptera (14 espécies), Lepidoptera (12 espécies) e Dermaptera (1 espécie). No algodoeiro não-Bt, coletaram-se insetos pertencentes a Hymenoptera (32 espécies), Diptera (27 espécies), Coleoptera (15 espécies) e Lepidoptera (10 espécies). As espécies de insetos foram mais abundantes nos horários das 9h:00min e 10h:00min da manhã, havendo diferença significativa na composição de espécies. A análise de variância revelou que o número de espécies variou significativamente entre os dias de floração, mas não entre os cultivares de algodão. O número de espécies teve uma diferença significativa durante o período de floração e de acordo com o tipo de algodão. As espécies mais abundantes foram Apis mellifera (Linnaeus, 1758), Cycloneda sanguinea (Linnaeus, 1763), uma espécie de Ichneumonidae, Scymnus(Scymnus) sp., Anticarsia gemmatalis (Hübner,1818), Heliothis virescens (Fabricius,1781), Pseudoplusia includens (Walker,1857),uma espécie de Pyralidae, Eriopis connexa (Germar,1824), Diabrotica sp., Colaspis joliveti (Bèchyne,1955 ), Hippodamia convergens (Guérin-Méneville,1842) e Allograpta exotica (Wiedemann,1830)

<p>Due to the political, economic, and technological changes brought on by the processes of globalization, since the mid-1990s, civil society groups have increasingly chosen to target corporate actors. This thesis focuses on the circumstances under which civil society groups have chosen to target corporate actors in addition to and instead of states. How corporate actors respond to activist demands and the factors that shape how they approach corporate social responsibility and the environment are also examined. This thesis uses a political economic opportunity structure approach to understand the relationship between civil society groups and corporate actors. While activist networks are increasingly targeting corporate actors, they also continue to target the state to achieve their objectives. This two prong strategy has been effective for activist networks because it allows them to take advantage of weaknesses found in both political and industry opportunity structures. However, while the impact of activist networks is shaped by the structural environment in which they operate, activist networks also create new opportunities through the strategic use of frames and tactics to draw attention to and create support for the issues with which they are concerned. Two case studies involving the global environmental movement and corporate actors are examined in this thesis. The first case study focuses on a global network of activists opposed to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and the network’s interactions with states and a variety of corporations in their campaign to prevent the introduction of GMOs into the environment. The second case study examines the activities of a network of activists concerned about the environmental impacts of electronic waste (the e-waste network). The e-waste network sought to ensure the proper disposal of electronic waste and increase the sustainability of the electronics industry through the targeting of states and corporations.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse Sweden’s first GMO-legislation which was implemented in 1994. The legislation was created because of Swedens commitment to the EES-agreement, but also because of the necessity for GMO-legislation. The analysis is based on Ulrich Beck’s theory which stipulates that highly developed societies are no longer industrial societies but instead have become risk societies, which also has a connection to and is strongly influenced by the precautionary principle. In a risk society the logic of risk production dominates the logic of wealth production and the regulations and actions of governments correlate to this perspective. The questions the analysis seeks to answer are how the actors involved in the making of Sweden’s first comprehensive GMO-legislation has considered, judged and finally chosen to handle the potential risks associated with gene technology. The results show that Sweden had a distinctive focus on risk, which also had a strong connection to ethics, which in the end was about how big of a risk could be accepted based on the moral resonsibility for the environment. In some parts Sweden took the restrictions further than required for by the EES-agreement based on the risk approach. The legislation can be characterized as being surrounded by an epistemological problem, due the lack of definitive knowledge about GMOs at the time. These results also support the view found by earlier research, when it comes to how Sweden has handled the issues surrounding GMOs during an early stage. / Uppsatsens syfte är att utifrån ett riskperspektiv analysera Sveriges första heltäckande GMO-lagstiftning vilken antogs 1994. Lagstiftningen skapades som ett resultat av Sveriges åtaganden via EES-avtalet, men också utifrån nödvändigheten av att skapa en heltäckande GMO-lag. Undersökningen bygger på Ulrich Becks teori om att välutvecklade samhällen har gått från att vara industrisamhällen till att bli risksamhällen. I risksamhället dominerar riskproduktionens logik över rikedomsproduktionens logik där regeringars och myndigheters agerande styrs utifrån detta perspektiv. Frågor som undersökningen söker svar på är hur de aktörer som var inblandade i skapandet av Sveriges första heltäckande GMO-lag resonerat kring, bedömt och slutligen hanterat de risker som ansågs finnas med gentekniken. Resultatet visar att Sverige hade ett uttalat fokus på risker som i förlängningen går tillbaka till etiska frågor, där vilka risker som kunde accepteras utifrån det moraliska ansvaret för miljön stod i centrum. I vissa delar så införde Sverige en striktare lagstiftning än vad EES-avtalet krävde utifrån ett riskperspektiv. Lagstiftningen kan sägas ha karaktäriserats av ett epistemologiskt problem, vilket var en följd av den okunskap som förelåg vid tidpunkten. Detta stödjer också den tidigare forskningens uppfattningar kring hur Sverige hanterat frågan med GMO på ett tidigt stadium.

En Argentine, la biotechnologie agricole, spécialement le soya transgénique, a été adoptée de façon fulgurante et elle a provoqué un fort choc dans l’économie nationale et dans la société. Actuellement, dû à la gravité des conséquences de ce phénomène, les médias, et la presse en particulier, ont fait écho du débat. Le but général de cette étude est d’analyser le débat de société sur ce phénomène dans la presse écrite argentine. Pour ce faire, trois objectifs spécifiques ont été retenus : dresser un portrait général du discours; comprendre le contexte politique et économique qui a permis l’insertion de la biotechnologie agricole en Argentine; et analyser les enjeux socioéthiques subjacents au problème des biotechnologies. Pour répondre à ces objectifs, on a effectué une analyse de contenu du discours social circonscrit à la presse écrite argentine entre les années 1999- 2006. La démarche privilégiée inclut la classification des articles de journaux par l’utilisation de mots-clés et l’assignation à des catégories thématiques avec l’assistance des techniques d’analyse de texte par ordinateur. Les résultats de cette étude signalent pour la période étudiée une importante couverture journalistique des biotechnologies agricoles, couverture qui, en général, a été favorable. La quantité d’articles augmente avec les années et montre un virage important des sujets commerciaux à des questions politiques. Le débat autour des conséquences environnementales et sociales de l’application du nouveau modèle agricole sont pauvrement représentées et montrent une apparition plus tardive dans les journaux argentins. Cependant, cela pourrait s’expliquer par un déplacement dans l’axe de la discussion des biotechnologies vers la sojisation qui devient l’enjeu central du débat autour du phénomène agricole. / In Argentina, agricultural biotechnology – especially transgenic soya – has been widely adopted causing a strong impact on the national economy and society. Today, because of its important impact, the media and the written press in particular have published substantial material on this phenomenon of agricultural biotechnology. The overall objective of this study is to analyze the social debate on this phenomenon in the Argentinean written press. To this end, three specific objectives were retained: to provide an overview of the discourse; to understand the political and economic context that permitted the inclusion of agricultural biotechnology in Argentina; and to analyze the socio-ethical issues underlying the integration of biotechnology into Argentinean agriculture. To meet these objectives, I conducted a content analysis of social discourse in the Argentinean press during the years 1999-2006. I classified articles using keywords and constructed thematic categories using computer-assisted text analysis techniques. The results of this study show a wide coverage of agricultural biotechnology with a generally positive presentation. The number of articles increases over time and shows a major shift from a discussion of economic to political issues. The debate over the environmental, social and ethical consequences of the implementation of this new agricultural model is poorly represented and has a late appearance in the press. However, this could be explained by a change in the focus of discussion from biotechnology to sojisation, which includes many of these issues and which has become the focus of debate about agriculture.