Abstract
This chapter commences by referencing definitions of religion and the understanding of culture. However, the scope of these two concepts in the global arena is daunting. It is difficult to provide a comprehensive definition of religion or culture since different definitions are used for different purposes. When looking at religious and cultural relationships with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the most important thing to understand is that the beliefs, habits, and rituals attached to religion and culture are so deeply rooted, and that these undercurrents of human thought possess the power to decide if something is acceptable or unexceptionable, in an instant. The speed at which religion and culture can deem something welcomed or unwelcomed is why it is critical to understand the potential religious and cultural interpretations of agricultural biotechnology (agbiotech) before the opposition begins. It is prudent, and preferable, to engage in this understanding on the front end of research and development. The future of agbiotech rests in true cooperative engagement across all sectors of the agricultural network and this requires a strong religious and cultural understanding of how biotechnology might play into a region’s agricultural landscape.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abu-Sway M (1998) Fiqh al-Bi’ah fil-Islam. Towards an Islamic jurisprudence of the environment. Paper presented at Belfast Mosque, Northern Ireland, February
Agbioworld (n.d.) Playing God or improving human lives? Religious, moral and ethical perspectives on food biotechnology. http://www.agbioworld.org/biotech-info/religion/. Accessed 22 Apr 2013
Coe A (2009) Public affairs education and the rethinking of the dialogue surrounding genetically modified crops. Unpublished paper presented at Food, Famine and Future Technologies: Ethical Dilemmas in a Hungry World. Appignani Bioethics Center, under the auspices of the United Nations Headquarters, New York City, USA
Dow AgroScience (n.d.) http://www.dowagro.com/usag/prod/060.htm. Accessed 8 November 2013.
Gonsalves C, Gonsalves D (forthcoming) The Hawaiian papaya story. In: Smyth SJ, Phillips PWB, Castle D (eds) Handbook of agriculture, biotechnology and development. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham
Planttreaty.org (n.d.) International treaty on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Accessed 22 Apr 2013
The Future We Want Outcome (2012) Earth Summit Rio+20. http://www.uncsd2012.org/thefuturewewant.html. Accessed 22 Apr 2013
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Coe, A. (2014). Culture and Religion. In: Ludlow, K., Smyth, S., Falck-Zepeda, J. (eds) Socio-Economic Considerations in Biotechnology Regulation. Natural Resource Management and Policy, vol 37. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9440-9_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9440-9_17
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-9439-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9440-9
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsEconomics and Finance (R0)