Glenn Stone: Anthropology, GMOs, and Small Farms (Full)

Glenn Davis Stone is an anthropologist who studies the ecological, political, and cultural aspects of small farmers. His major research efforts have involved population, conflict, and the organization of production in Nigeria, and agricultural biotechnology in India. He is the incoming president of Anthropology & Environment, and Professor of Anthropology and Environmental Studies at Washington University, St. Louis. He talks about biotech and GMOs in India, the alternative agriculture movement in America and his opinion on the future of farming. See the edited version here: http://youtu.be/QTixAKrMtU8 Table of Contents: (0:15) BACKGROUND Anthropology and archeology (0:30) Ancient farming (1:01) Nigeria study (2:29) Agriculture changing (2:50) (3:29) SMALL FARMS AND SETTLEMENT PATTERNS Population, small farms and conflict (3:49) (4:00) GMOs GMO Tomato (4:01) GMO Food Crops (4:44) Europe’s Backlash (5:02) Monsanto and companies (5:20) Third World Crops (5:38) Disagreements: Corporate control versus science (6:06) Companies and Activists (6:44) (7:19) RESEARCH ON SMALL FARMS Biotech lab experience (7:42) Studying developing countries (7:54) India GMOs and Activism (8:07) GM Cotton in India (9:02) (9:38) SMALL FARMERS IN AMERICA Sustainable Farms (9:44) (10:20) UNIVERSITY ROLE IN RESEARCH Washington University Biotech (11:38) BT genes in plants (12:18) Relationship with Monsanto (12:48) Corporate-University Financial relationships (13:13) Patents and Patent Law (13:50) Funding (15:01) (17:21) SOCIAL SCIENCE AND BIOTECH INDUSTRY Income inequality and public relations *question (18:15) Tobacco Industry Study (20:02) Biotech reactions to social research (20:57) India Farmer Suicides (21:48) Sheep Death Argument (23:01) Terminator Crops (24:12) (26:20) OPINION ON GMOs Good or Bad for Who? (27:01) Positives (27:16) Negatives (31:11) Poverty and Food Supply in Third World (31:12) (32:40) SOCIAL STRUCTURES AND GMOs Type of crop (33:38) Location (33:45) Indian Cotton Hybrid Seed Study (34:08) Biotech economic claims (36:38) Understanding Cotton Genes (37:28) (38:20) FARMER KNOWLEDGE Small farmer sense in running farm (40:12) When solutions stop working (40:46) Creating problems and dependency (42:09) (43:16) CROP MANAGEMENT AND ALTERNATIVE FARMING New American Agriculture Methods (45:07) Skill and Sustainable Farming (46:25) Organic and Farmer’s Market (46:58) (47:55) FARMER’S HISTORIES Passing on knowledge (49:31) New American farmers (50:01) Sources of information (50:41) Government Responsibility (51:30) (52:00) CSA AND NON-CORPORATE FARMS Young generation interest (52:34) Farm to Fork (53:37) (54:15) ANTHROPOLOGY AND SMALL FARMS Anthropologist role with farmer technology (55:30) Grass-fed beef start up in Virginia (56:18) India’s Honey Bee Network (56:55) (57:50) MOVING FORWARD Anthropological Service Potential (58:10)