Importance of networking for organic farms with regard to GMO issues – A comparison between selected regions of North America and Germany

Doris Pick

Genetically modified crops (a few hundred hectares of BT-corn) were planted commercially in Germany in 2005 for the first time in history. In the USA, however commercial cultivation of transgenic crops has been the case for one decade. Yet farmers in both countries started at about the same time in late 2003 and early 2004 to further intensify their networking actions between each other, with various stakeholders and other regional actors to found so called GE-free Regions.

Organic farmers in selected regions of North America and Germany were interviewed to examine the origin, structure and importance of these various networking fields with regard to GMO issues. The survey included already existing as well as planned networking possibilities for the short and middle term. The analysis took into account relevant political frameworks like labelling and liability regulations and their national as well as regional differences when evaluating - where possible - the success of these networking activities.


Source
Organic Agriculture Research Symposium held at the 25th Guelph Organic Conference, University of Guelph, January 2006


Author Information
Department of Sustainable Regional Development, University of Kassel,
Henschelstraße 2, 34109 Kassel, Germany, email: Doris.Pick@uni-kassel.de


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