Manufacturing scarcity: food biotechnology and the life sciences industry

Public debate surrounding the growth of the biotechnology industry has been dominated by concerns over the ecological and health-related risks of genetically engineered organisms. This article gathers together empirical material from a variety of sources in order to document the adverse social impact of biotech capitalism, both on the integrity and accountability of the scientific community, and on the well-being of the poorer inhabitants of the world. The evidence marshalled here suggests that the shape and use of modern biotechnology is becoming increasingly incompatible with the full development of society's productive resources, and that it reflects instead the political imperative to manufacture commodity-dependent needs at ever-higher levels of abundance.