Multilayered framing in Turkish Anti-GM Movement

Abstract

Studies on framing between local and global contexts mostly focus on the ways in which local actors draw upon universalizing claims. Political and economic processes within which the GMOs are produced, traded and regulated invite an exploration of different scales -from local to national, from regional to global. This study aims to analyze the multilayered framing activities of Turkish anti-GM mobilization. In October 2004, 'No to GMOs Platform' (GDO'ya Hayır Platformu) in Turkey organized the Monster Tomato Tour which was the continuation of Friends of the Earth's Bite Back Campaign against the World Trade Organization ruling on GMOs. Platform activists defined their strategy by linking GMOs with environmental, agricultural, and economic issues that are relevant to Turkish political and economic realities and resonate with a larger frame in relation to global aspects of the controversy. Based on interviews with key national and local anti-GM activists in 12 cities conducted between 2007 and 2009, this paper probes how and why core tasks of framing process -diagnostic, prognostic, motivational -relate to local, national, and global scales. The Turkish anti-GM movement developed i) diagnostic frames, identifying a problem and attribute blame at global scale ii) prognostic frames, offering actions and plans at national scale iii) motivational frames being a rationale for action mainly at the local scale. The movement bridged a vast political space by framing the GM issue in a multilayered way by interpreting the grievances and claims locally, nationally, and globally. The movement represents a broad coalition of environmental and health concerns, agriculture issues and consumer rights. Activists were able to create a coherent narrative by connecting different scales towards a nation-wide ban on GMOs.