The Role of Biotechnology in Sustainable Agriculture: Views and Perceptions among Key Actors in the Swedish Food Supply Chain

Karin Edvardsson Björnberg, Elisabeth Jonas, Håkan Marstorp and Pernilla Tidåker
Additional contact information
Karin Edvardsson Björnberg: Division of Philosophy, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellvägen 32, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
Elisabeth Jonas: Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7023, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
Håkan Marstorp: Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7014, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
Pernilla Tidåker: JTI—Swedish Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, P.O. Box 7033, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden

Sustainability, 2015, vol. 7, issue 6, 1-18

Abstract: Researchers have put forward agricultural biotechnology as one possible tool for increasing food production and making agriculture more sustainable. In this paper, it is investigated how key actors in the Swedish food supply chain perceive the concept of agricultural sustainability and the role of biotechnology in creating more sustainable agricultural production systems. Based on policy documents and semi-structured interviews with representatives of five organizations active in producing, processing and retailing food in Sweden, an attempt is made to answer the following three questions: How do key actors in the Swedish food supply chain define and operationalize the concept of agricultural sustainability? Who/what influences these organizations’ sustainability policies and their respective positions on agricultural biotechnology? What are the organizations’ views and perceptions of biotechnology and its possible role in creating agricultural sustainability? Based on collected data, it is concluded that, although there is a shared view of the core constituents of agricultural sustainability among the organizations, there is less explicit consensus on how the concept should be put into practice or what role biotechnology can play in furthering agricultural sustainability.

Keywords: agricultural sustainability; biotechnology; sustainability policy; food production systems; environment; Sweden (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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