Objectives: We identify various interest groups involved in the GM policy debate surrounding Bt brinjal in India,examine their interactions and interconnectedness, and quantify their role in the debate.
Methods/Statistical analysis: We use content analysis to review media coverage of the Bt brinjal debate in India and abroad, followed by a modified social network analysis (SNA) to identify the interconnectedness between these interest groups (actors) and quantify their role in the policy debate.
Findings: Although past literature provided comprehensive accounts of the events surrounding the biotech policy formation process in India, they lacked any complementary quantitative criteria to test such narratives. For instance, they have not quantitatively measured the importance of various interest groups in these debates. Using the Bt brinjal case in India, we identified several interest groups that were involved in the GM crop debate in India and quantified their interactions with each other and the government in the debate that shaped public policy. This exercise allows us to quantitatively confirm some of the existing findings and bring forward new ones. We find that anti-GM civil society interest groups played a more important role Bt brinjal policy debate compared to pro-GM industry groups. Additionally, unlike the Bt cotton debate where cotton farmers actively supported the technology, vegetable farmers were not active in the Bt brinjal debate and we provide some explanations. The science community's divided opinion on Bt brinjal also likely played a role in government's decision to put a moratorium.
Application/Improvements: This study shows the value of using content analysis and SNA in public policy research.