Socio-political impact of transgenic wheat production in Argentina during the period 2020-2021

Abstract

Genetically modified seeds entered Argentine agricultural production in the middle of the decade of the 90s and they were advancing on a large scale to multiple crops. In the year 2020, the approval of modified wheat for human consumption brought a possibility of production that did not exist before in territories not necessarily usual for this type of crop, but in turn, it was accompanied by claims, struggles and the uncertainty of whether, like the previous genetically modified crops, this also brings with it an effect on biodiversity and human health and what it entails incorporating seeds that have been modified to possess certain characteristics into the diet.

This paper aims to understand the reality raised by the actors and institutions involved, in relation to the meaning of environmental public policies and present power relations. Thus also to carry out in an introductory way, an analysis of the socio-political situation that this decision represents in the Argentine territory.