Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Of course, there will be parties who are not interested in such a dis-
course. On the one hand, some multinational corporations may prefer
the relatively fast introduction of new GMOs to improve their market
share worldwide. However, the characteristics of an emergent institution
imply that such behavior becomes increasingly unacceptable, thus dam-
aging the reputation of such companies. On the other hand, some NGOs
may continue to battle against all forms of GMOs.
Finally, the GRI model and BSTE format could be criticized as
just another form of an enlightened technocratic approach. For better
or for worse, emerging technologies cannot be ignored. They deserve
serious attention from technologists, social scientists, policy makers,
and the general public. Solutions cannot be realized without employ-
ing some technical approaches together with all nontechnical arguments.
Whether this process will be branded as neo-technocratic or as truly
democratic depends on the reporting system's specifics and the socio-
technical experiment. GRI and BSTE could provide effective methods
to integrate perspectives in democratic processes and resolve the GMO
policy debate.
Acknowledgments
We want to thank Sujatha Byravan from Gene-Watch for her crit-
ical and constructive comments. The research related to the Global
Reporting Initiative was supported by a grant from the National Science
Foundation.
Appendix
The reputation of the mining companies, especially multinationals with
operations in developing countries, was at a very low point during the
1990s, just as the Corporate Social Responsibility movement became
popular. The reputation derived from the long history of environmental
