Alternate Title: Nanofoodstuffs, The isolation of the consumer. (English)

المؤلفون: Záyago, Édgar, Foladori, Guillermo

المصدر: Trayectorias; jul-dic2009, Vol. 11 Issue 29, p55-74, 20p

مصطلحات موضوعية: CONSUMERS, TECHNOLOGICAL revolution, NANOTECHNOLOGY, FOOD, SHELF-life dating of food, TISSUES, COMPLAINTS & complaining

مستخلص: One technological revolution is already underway: nano technologies. They are seen as the hope to save the world from hunger: the promise to revolutionize and boost the production of foodstuffs and agricultural outputs; the processing of food through techniques that increase nutritional qualities and flavor; packaging and distribution that prolongs shelf life; and incorporating nutritional supplements that target the cells, tissues and organs needing them. The panacea of resolving ancient socio-economic problems technically is revived with nanotechnologies. In this article, we argue that nanotechnologies favor and increase the consumer’s isolation vis-àà-vis the corporations producing the foodstuffs and agricultural inputs. By isolation, we understand the tendency to satisfy consumer needs individually, distanc- ing them from the patterned results that have been the basis of any political association, be it of workers or of consumer groups. To the degree that the treatment and satisfaction of needs are individualized, the possibilities for organized complaints become more abstract and difficult. Therefore, technology is accom ing them from the patterned results that have been the basis of any political association, be it of workers or of consumer groups. To the degree that the treatment and satisfaction of needs are individualized, the possibilities for organized complaints become more abstract and difficult. Therefore, technology is accompanied by conditions reinforcing capitalist market relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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