Strategic framing of genome editing in agriculture: an analysis of the debate in Germany in the run-up to the European Court of Justice ruling

New techniques in genome editing have led to a controversial debate about the opportunities and uncertainties they present for agricultural food production and consumption. In July 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union defined genome editing as a new process of mutagenesis, which implies that the resulting organisms count as genetically modified and are subject, in principle, to the obligations of EU Directive 2001/18/EG. This paper examines how key protagonists from academia, politics, and the economy strategically framed the debate around genome editing in agriculture in Germany prior to its legal classification by the Court of Justice. It is based on an analysis of 96 official statements, including position papers, press releases, and information brochures. Our study reveals eight strategic frames used in the discourse on genome editing and uncovers the strategies used to disconnect from or connect with the previous discourse on green genetic engineering in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Building on competitive framing theory, the study provides explanations for the use and emergence of counter-framing strategies and their success or failure in the debate around genome editing.

Natur als Widerspruch

Green genetic engineering is one of the most controversial technologies in recent history. On the basis of a qualitative content analysis of German position papers criticising this technology, this book clarifies three questions: Why is the controversy so vehement and emotional? Why is there no prospect of a compromise on this matter? And what ideas of the relationship between humans and nature play a role in the dispute? ‘Nature’ is omnipresent and dazzling, but how is this term used in current social debates? What concrete interpretations is ‘nature’ associated with? This study understands the controversy over green genetic engineering as an exemplary controversy that exposes fundamental aspects of the modern age and its relationship to nature.