ANGELIKA HILBECK on The Politics and Promises of Genetic Engineering — Beyond the fix — Critical Scientists Switzerland podcasts

In this epi­so­de we focus on gene­tic engi­nee­ring, which is often pre­sen­ted as a neces­si­ty for cli­ma­te-resi­li­ent agri­cul­tu­re.

Our guest, Dr. Ange­li­ka Hil­beck, takes us on a fasci­na­ting jour­ney through the ear­ly stages of gene­tic engi­nee­ring in agri­cul­tu­re, high­light­ing the flaws in the very essence of the approach – its reduc­tion­ism of eco­lo­gi­cal rela­ti­on­ships – which has not chan­ged with CRISPR/Cas and new geno­mic engi­nee­ring tech­ni­ques. She explains how the pro­mi­ses of gene­tic engi­nee­ring have been con­sist­ent­ly exag­ge­ra­ted, and despi­te vast invest­ments in the deve­lo­p­ment of GM crops for agri­cul­tu­re, they have fal­len short of expec­ta­ti­ons. She asks whe­ther it is not only the con­sidera­ble eco­lo­gi­cal risks of the tech­no­lo­gies that make them a que­stionable bet for the future of agri­cul­tu­re, but the poor ratio of invest­ment to results of the who­le bio­tech endea­vour.

Ange­li­ka Hil­beck is an agro-eco­lo­gist and ento­mo­lo­gist with over 30 years expe­ri­ence in the stu­dy of gene­ti­cal­ly modi­fi­ed crops and their impact on the envi­ron­ment. She has done pio­nee­ring work on the eco­lo­gy of GM crops and, more recent­ly, alter­na­ti­ve agro-eco­lo­gi­cal approa­ches in Eastern Afri­ca. In 2024, she reti­red from 25 years of rese­arch and tea­ching at the Insti­tu­te of Inte­gra­ti­ve Bio­lo­gy at ETH Zurich.