Fields of conflict: How are new breeding techniques shaping agricultural discourse and rural land use in the UK and in Germany?

植物和动物育种是非常有争议的话题。近几十年来，在转基因植物的种植和转基因动物的繁殖方面出现了激烈的冲突。近年来，新的分子生物学技术（如基因组编辑）的发展扩大了这场辩论，这些技术有可能彻底改变生物技术。在农业方面的可能应用包括开发适应气候和抗病的植物或动物，以更好地适应生产过程。2018年7月底，欧洲法院裁定，使用这些新技术生产的生物应在欧盟作为转基因生物进行监管。各成员国的具体规定尚未出台。这个拟议的研究项目探讨了在英国即将退出欧盟的背景下，英国和德国在农业新技术使用方面的共性和差异。对农村地区给予了特别关注——那里是大多数农业发生的地方，也是基因组编辑产生的动植物可能被利用的地方。这个研究项目是我多年来一直在进行的关于农业技术与农村土地利用转型之间关系的研究的一部分。

Plant and animal breeding are very controversial topics. In recent decades, intensive conflicts have arisen over the cultivation of genetically modified plants and the breeding of genetically modified animals. In recent years, the debate has been broadened by the development of new molecular biology techniques, e.g. genome editing, that have the potential to revolutionize biotechnology. Possible applications in agriculture include the development of climate-adapted and disease-resistant plants or animals better adapted to production processes. At the end of July 2018, the European Court of Justice ruled that organisms produced by using these new techniques should be regulated as genetically modified organisms in the European Union. Specific regulations by the member states are still pending. This proposed research project explores the commonalities and differences between the UK and Germany regarding the use of the new techniques in agriculture, in the context Britain's forthcoming exit from the European Union. Particular attention is given to rural areas – the areas where most agriculture takes place and where the plants and animals produced by genome editing could potentially be used. The research project is embedded in my ongoing research over several years on the relationship between agricultural technology and rural land-use transformation.