The development and use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has been a contentious topic for the last three decades. While there have been a number of social science analyses of the issues, this is the first book to assess the role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the debate at such a wide geographic scale. The various positions, for and against GMOs, particularly with regard to transgenic crops, articulated by NGOs in the debate are dissected, classified and juxtaposed to corresponding campaigns. These are discussed in the context of key conceptual paradigms, including nature fundamentalism and the organic movement, post-colonialism, food sovereignty, anti-globalisation, sustainability and feminism. The book also analyses how NGOs interpret the debate and the persuasive communication tactics they use. This provides greater understanding of the complexity of negotiations in the debate and explains its specific features such as its global scope and difficulty in finding compromises. The author assesses the long-term interests of various participants and changes in perceptions of science and in public communication as a result. Examples of major NGOs such as Greenpeace, Oxfam and WWF are included, but the author also provides new research into the role of NGOs in Russia.

The development and use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has been a contentious topic for the last three decades. While there have been a number of social science analyses of the issues, this is the first book to assess the role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the debate at such a wide geographic scale. The various positions, for and against GMOs, particularly with regard to transgenic crops, articulated by NGOs in the debate are dissected, classified and juxtaposed to corresponding campaigns. These are discussed in the context of key conceptual paradigms, including nature fundamentalism and the organic movement, post-colonialism, food sovereignty, anti-globalisation, sustainability and feminism. The book also analyses how NGOs interpret the debate and the persuasive communication tactics they use. This provides greater understanding of the complexity of negotiations in the debate and explains its specific features such as its global scope and difficulty in finding compromises. The author assesses the long-term interests of various participants and changes in perceptions of science and in public communication as a result. Examples of major NGOs such as Greenpeace, Oxfam and WWF are included, but the author also provides new research into the role of NGOs in Russia.

Our Common Future is a joint work produced in 1987 by a United Nations commission headed by former Norwegian Prime Minister, Gro Brundtland. Also known as The Brundtland Report, it offers a classic approach to problem solving by first asking a productive question.

How do we protect the world we live in for future generations, while at the same time stimulating economic and social development right now? The solution the work proposes is “sustainable development”, defined in the report as humanity’s ability “to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The key conclusion the report came to – that we need long-term strategies to manage the earth’s natural resources – proved to be so universally welcomed it introduced the term “sustainability” into the everyday language of international politics. Solving the problem of workable sustainable development became a hot topic, leading to the birth of a new academic discipline, environmental economics. The book offered a solution to the problem of ensuring sustainable development by highlighting the critical importance of international cooperation.