Political Indigestion

Germany Confronts Genetically Modified Foods

Bibliographic Data

ID6263185
AuthorsAlice Cooper (corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume18
Issue4
Pages536-558
Publication date2009-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueGerman Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0964-4008 • E-ISSN: 1743-8993
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09644000903349382
OpenAlexW1968329561
LanguageEN
Citations received6

Why has German policy toward agricultural biotechnology been notably unsupportive, compared to other countries with large biotechnology industries, despite its economic significance and the senior governing party's initial support across both the SPD–Green and Grand Coalition governments? I argue that German policy is the result of the interlocking dynamics in the economic and political arenas. In both realms, the GMO issue led to 'business conflict' by dividing economic sectors into pro-GMO and anti-GMO blocs. This enhanced the anti-GMO movement's 'opportunity structures' in both the economic and the political arena. It also affected the relative strength of contending political coalitions on both sides of the GMO issue, which in turn affected policy outcomes. Finally, I argue that the partisan composition of Germany's coalition governments also contributed to the outcome

Agriculture · Biology · Economics · German · Market economy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Bioeconomy and Sustainability Development · CRISPR and Genetic Engineering · Genetically Modified Organisms Research · Law

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