Bioeconomy

Biobanks are crucial institutions in the infrastructure of contemporary
life sciences. They depend on the participation of donors who give
tissues and data. Through their participation, donors can build identities and form biosociality. Biobanks are key sites in the current bioeconomy, that enable the generation of value from those tissues and bioinformation, transformed into assets or commodities. We define biobanks as hybrid zones of heterogeneous practices that blur the boundaries between institutional sectors and ways of producing economic values. On that basis we introduce a novel empirical, realist approach to the analysis of biobanking economies, explaining the different economic and social biovalues that emerge from the practices of valuing and interacting between the researchers, biobank staff and donor participants in specific banking activities. We discuss why STS studies on biobanking should explore the concrete practices through which multiple biovalues as well as biosocialities are produced simultaneously and in configurations of mutual interdependence.

This paper analyzes an emerging form of post-pharmaceutical health and its underlying regime of value in the global bioeconomy of regenerative stem cell-based medicine (RSCM). Animated by a vision to overcome drug-based therapies and their underlying political economies, RSCM pursues a form of regenerative health that is strikingly at odds with pharmaceutical regimes of drug research, regulation and therapy. To offer a theoretical account of these competing forms of health, the paper provides an analysis of the regimes of values that underpin pharmaceutical and regenerative health respectively. This analysis is done alongside three dimensions: the interlinkage between knowledge, technology and economic value creation; its relation to normative values and ethics; and conceptions and valuations of the biomedical subject and his/her body in biomedical research, intervention and innovation. Contrasting these two diverging regimes of health and value suggests that in RSCM the pharmaceutical logic of accumulating “surplus health” is not entirely dismissed but re-articulated in a regime based on the (re-)generation of regenerative biovalue through the extraction and ex vivo accumulation of “surplus vitality”. Finally, the article discusses “post-pharmaceutical health” as a sensitizing concept that offers new research avenues into emergent forms of health, value, and subjectivity beyond RSCM.

This chapter highlights the paradox between the Amazon’s extraordinary socio-biodiversity and its distance from the scientific, technological, and market frontier of the contemporary bioChapter 30 in Brief: The new bioeconomy in the Amazon: Opportunities and challenges for a healthy standing forest and flowing rivers Science Panel for the Amazon 2 economy. It discusses the current socioeconomic structures available in the region, as well as challenges and pathways for a transition to a sociallyfair and sustainable bioeconomy. Introduction The starting point for stimulating a strong, diverse, and dynamic socio-biodiversity economy in the Amazon is the recognition that the region has been occupied by people who sustainably used and managed its gigantic wealth for thousands of years (see Chapters 8-13). Today, this immense potential is underutilized1 and is being systematically destroyed (see Chapters 14-21). In addition, prevailing policy and infrastructure aims to make the Amazon a s...

These are the transcripts of the Small Markets Podcast Series that are available at this link and at https://thyme.biovale.org/resources/ and at https://independent.academia.edu/IreneSotiropoulou/Videos
The Small Markets Podcast Series have been prepared within the framework of the project "Getting to know the existing bioeconomy in East Riding: The farmers’ markets case" that was conducted by Prof. Pauline Deutz and Dr Irene Sotiropoulou as part of the THYME project at the University of Hull.

The concept of rural vitality often used to describe the rural areas as specific areas that are of particular significance not only for the region but also the country as a whole. Depending on the objectives investigated there are different indicators used to evaluate the vitality – one of them – rural residents social portrait. Purpose of the research is to identify the impact of changes of social portrait of rural residents on rural vitality. In this study, the indicators of general censuses of 2001 and 2011 were used to assess the social portrait of rural residents. The results showed that changes of social portrait of rural residents had both positive and negative trends on rural vitality. As positive trends should be mentioned rising higher grade educated, multilingual population, a rapidly improving life and living conditions in the rural areas compared with the townspeople. The trends adversely affected the vitality of rural areas are: depopulation, the growing share of elder...

Given both the ongoing expansion of world population and development of climate change conditions, it is increasingly imperative to develop and deploy sustainable biomass production methods to allow establishment of a flourishing and sustainable bioeconomy. Green technologies, including biofuels and bioproducts, are among the most effective strategies for decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, while meeting humanity's energy requirements. Biomass now provides a measure of energy to many countries, however supporting technologies are not widely accepted, largely because of low returns for biomass producers. This paper provides an overview of world biomass production and utilization. It also indicates potential approaches for enhancing biomass production: agronomic practices, associated microorganisms, genome editing, selection of optimal technologies, best combination approaches for feeding global human and animal populations, while, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and replacing demand for fossil energy with bioenergy. A more novel concept is proposed, microbe-to-plant signal compounds, as the potential approach to address the challenges we are facing. These compounds (e.g., lipo-chitooligosaccharide and thuricin 17) have been shown to increase growth for diverse plant species, particularly when they are growing under stressful conditions, however, their commercial development/utilization is far from complete. This review paper will expand the understanding of using the signal interaction between crop and beneficial microorganisms not only to enhance plant growth but also promote agricultural sustainability and a stronger bioeconomy.

The European Community regulations on genetically modified organisms
and novel foods come from a very wide range of origins, however it is
possible to identify four primary sources of law: the European Community Treaty, international law, secondary legislation, and decisions of the European Court of Justice. Regardless of their legal character, one common feature of those regulations is that the European Community pays particular attention to high level of food security, human health, animal welfare and environmental protection. All foodstuffs produced or imported to Member States have to meet strict requirements that guarantee access to safe and healthy food.
At the same time, principles of food law shouldn’t act as barriers to establishment or functioning of the Internal Market. Moreover, the European legislators should consider that new regulations cannot present constraint for technology development which constitutes one of the fundamental elements of the Lisbon Strategy (2000). It is necessary to merge social expectations of safe and healthy food with economic and political expectations of the European Community which is supposed to be a competitive participant of global economy based on knowledge.

Learning from nature may be the most important step towards improving cities in the context of environmental and climate issues. However, many of the current approaches to make cities greener or more sustainable are still linear and insufficient to deal with these growing challenges. In this scenario, the adoption of regenerative and circular lenses for the built environment may foster a more holistic development based on what is good rather than what is less bad. In this article, we propose that bioconnectivity or bioconnections-a nature-focused approach based on biophilic design, biomimetics, and ecosystem services-may be an important enabler for the regeneration of the ecological and social boundaries of the planetary boundaries and doughnut economics models. We examine the literature to identify in what ways bioconnections could facilitate circular and regenerative processes for the local scale of the built environment domain. We complement the discussion with some real-world examples from selected urban communities or interventions in existing urban areas around the globe that claim a green approach. In the end, we propose a framework of relevant bioconnections for the built environment that could facilitate addressing ecological and social boundaries at the local urban scale and facilitate processes of regenerative transitions towards thriving communities. Keywords circular economy; circularity; nature-based solutions; regenerative design and development; urban bioeconomy; urban green infrastructure; urban sustainability Issue This article is part of the issue "Towards Green(er) Cities: Contextualizing Green Benefits for Urban Spaces and Contemporary Societies" edited by Juaneé Cilliers (University of Technology Sydney, Australia).

Aceasta lucrare își propune să analizeze opțiunile comunităților rurale din Regiunea Nord-Est privind tranziția către o bioeconomie circulară în acord cu politicile de mediu ale UE. Sistemul liniar bazat pe colectarea în amestec a biodeșeurilor municipale și gestionarea deficitară a deșeurilor agricole (gunoiul de grajd, deșeuri lemnoase), prin depozitare sau ardere deschisă, predomină încă în România rurală. Valorificarea biodeșeurilor municipale și a fluxului de materii prime secundare din sectorul agricol prin compostare, digestia anaerobă (producere de biogaz) sau utilizarea deșeurilor agricole drept combustibil în producerea de energie termică/electrică constituie soluții de tranziție pentru o dezvoltare rurală durabilă la nivelul regiunii de Nord-Est. Prin urmare, această lucrare identifică deficiențele actuale privind managementul biodeșeurilor municipale și agricole din Regiunea Nord-Est și propune noi oportunități de dezvoltare sustenabilă, prin adoptarea soluțiilor de bioeconomie circulară la nivel local și regional

The notion of the bioeconomy has gained importance in both research and policy debates over the last decade, and is frequently argued to be a key part of the solution to multiple grand challenges. Despite this, there seems to be little consensus concerning what bioeconomy actually implies. Consequently, this paper seeks to enhance our understanding of what the notion of bioeconomy means by exploring the origins, uptake, and contents of the term " bioeconomy " in the academic literature. Firstly, we perform a bibliometric analysis that highlights that the bioeconomy research community is still rather fragmented and distributed across many different fields of science, even if natural and engineering sciences take up the most central role. Secondly, we carry out a literature review that identifies three visions of the bioeconomy. The biotechnology vision emphasises the importance of biotechnology research and application and commercialisation of biotechnology in different sectors of the economy. The bio-resource vision focuses on processing and upgrading of biological raw materials, as well as on the establishment of new value chains. Finally, the bio-ecology vision highlights sustainability and ecological processes that optimise the use of energy and nutrients, promote biodiversity, and avoid monocultures and soil degradation.

6 The social construction of the biotech industry Kean Birch Introduction Because the biotech industry is still in its infancy–having 'as a whole... never been profitable'(Ernst & Young 2003: 5)–it represents an ideal research subject in both economic sociology and science and ...

L’esperienza è fatta di eventi. Alcuni si ripetono senza farsi notare; altri sono così radicali da cam­biare in modo decisivo i significati dell’esperienza stessa. La maternità surrogata rientra in questa seconda categoria, dando luogo a uno strano connubio tra ‘tecnologia’ e ‘carnalità’ in cui l’au­mento della prima segna lo scindersi e il rarefarsi della seconda.
Per questo la pratica della surro­gacy rappresenta qualcosa di mai visto prima: con essa non solo si appalta alla tecnologia l’atto generativo, ma anche il materno, che così viene scomposto, assegnando a tre figure femminili ciò che – nella generazione – avviene nel corpo dell’unica madre. Quanto accade durante i nove mesi della gravidanza esce semplicemente di sce­na, sulla base di quella stessa logica che conside­ra irrilevanti per il ‘prodotto’, una volta finito, le circostanze e le procedure della sua produzione. Eppure, i piani di lettura del fenomeno di sostitu­zione di maternità sono davvero molto più estesi. Tanto che, inavvertitamente, sotto il nostro sguar­do si va realizzando un mutamento di civiltà che espone lo statuto dei figli e di ciascuno al ‘defla­grare’ della differenza tra le ‘persone’ e le ‘cose’.
A rischio, così, è ciò che nell’etica ha il linguaggio della dignità e nelle relazioni quello dell’amore: il senso dell’unicità.

Beilin takes readers on a journey through currents of alternative thought in Spanish culture, weaving through writings, films and life stories whose authors and protagonists are acutely aware that “the question of the non-human,” in particular in the land of bullfighting masculinities, is key not only to environmental sustainability, but also to political freedom, and equality.

Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) soybean cultivar TGx 1440 -1E cultivation for grain yields and soil microbiome with different soil amendments in humid tropics in the late cropping season of 2010, Abeokuta, Nigeria, at Latitude 70 121 N and Longitude 30 251 E in randomized complete block design (RCBD) replicated three times. Treatments application includes: agro-waste recycled to biofertilizer in anaerobic biodigester with two biofertilizer formulations (GF1 and GF2), sunshine fertilizer (SF) and chemical fertilizer (NPK 20:10:10).  Soybean vegetative growth parameters, nodulation, amount of nitrogen fixed, yield and yield components were determined at 8 weeks after planting (WAP). GF2 had significantly (P < 0.05) higher number of leaves. GF1 had significantly (P < 0.05) higher number of pods and seed weight/plant with lower biological nitrogen fixation, compared to other treatments. Soybean cultivars breeders should integrate biofertilizer into seed development programme, that bypass the naturalized soil rhizobia and nodulate only with highly effective inoculant strains under environmental stress, improved  soil resilience for climate mitigation with rhizosphere-microbial interactions to manage soybean cyst nematode (SCN). Smart agriculture framework developed impacts on trans-disciplinary approach, soya bean cultivation nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), remote access to agriculture data in real-time, crop development, supply chain management, profitability and biofertilizer varietal characteristics.
KEYWORDS | Soya bean, Biofertilizer, Biological nitrogen fixation, Soil Health, Nodulation, Rhizobium,    Sensors, Wicked Problems, Agriculture 5.0, Rhizosphere engineering, Microbiome.

There is currently a scientific, political and commercial need for life cycle sustainability assessments which take all facets into account: the ecological, social and economic effects and impacts of production. The LCSA approach presented in this work meets these requirements and is tailored to the wood-based bio-economy in Germany, as a sector characterized by significant sustainability potentials via substituting fossil raw materials by renewables, risks and complex life cycles. The assessment method follows the principles of standard LCAs, but delivers a theoretical and practical solution for an integration of different aspects of sustainability and consistent quantitative evaluation. First, a breakdown of a life cycle into stages and modules is presented as the key for an analytical balancing by several functional units. Second, a quantitative rating method is introduced to provide non-dimensional, quantitative and comparable evaluations which can be weighted and aggregated for manifold analyses and applications. At least the pros and cons of LCSAs are discussed and their constraints in terms of improving sustainability are depicted.

Although small solar photovoltaic (PV) systems avoid most soft costs, they still have a relatively high $/W value due to racking costs. In order to fulfill the promise of small-scale plug-and-play solar, a do-it-yourself PV rack design is provided and analyzed here for six criteria: (1) made from locally-accessible renewable materials, (2) 25-year lifetime to match PV warranties, (3) able to be fabricated by average consumers, (4) able to meet Canadian structural building codes, (5) low cost and (6) that it is shared using an open-source license. The open-source wood-based fixed-tilt ground-mounted bifacial photovoltaic rack design evaluated here was found to be appropriate throughout North America. Economic analysis of the bill of materials showed the racking system ranges from 49% to 77% less expensive compared to commercial proprietary racking in Canada. The racking design, however, is highly dependent on the cost of lumber that varies widely throughout the world. Even for an absolute lower-cost design in Togo due to a lower fixed tilt angle and lower loads from lack of snow, it was not found to be economic because of the relatively high cost of wood. The recent volatile lumber market warrants local evaluation from those considering the use of the open-source design. This design, however, provides for a PV rack that can be manufactured with distributed means throughout most of the world enabling more equitable access to solar energy to support a circular bioeconomy.

Fixed-tilt mechanical racking, consisting of proprietary aluminum extrusions, can dominate the capital costs of small-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Recent design research has shown that wood-racking can decrease the capital costs of small systems by more than 75% in North America. To determine if wood racking provides enough savings to enable labor to be exchanged profitably for higher solar electric output, this article develops a novel variable tilt angle open-source wood-based do-it-yourself (DIY) PV rack that can be built and adjusted at exceptionally low costs. A detailed levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) production analysis is performed after the optimal monthly tilt angles are determined for a range of latitudes. The results show the racking systems with an optimal variable seasonal tilt angle have the best lifetime energy production, with 5.2% more energy generated compared to the fixed-tilt system (or 4.8% more energy, if limited to a maximum tilt angle of 60°). Both fixed and variable wooden racking systems show similar LCOE, which is only 29% of the LCOE of commercial metal racking. The results of this study indicate that the novel variable tilt rack, whether used as a small-scale DIY project or scaled up to fulfill larger energy demands, provides both the lowest cost option even when modest labor costs are included and also may provide specific advantages for applications such as agrivoltaics.

Bioeconomy is a new, powerful opportunity for sustainable growth in Latin America and it has been incorporated in several strategies in the region.  The book summarizes case studies for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Young entrepreneurs in LA, and a chapter for public policies and institutionality

La sexta revolución tecnológica, llamada de Bioeconomía, está actualmente en su fase de surgimiento sobre la base de la revolución digital y caracterizada por el desarrollo sustentable y las aplicaciones a la matriz productiva de la biotecnología y nanotecnología. La Bioeconomía es una propuesta de modelo de desarrollo basado en los recursos naturales renovables. De la revisión del concepto de Bioeconomía, pueden resaltarse diferentes miradas que se interconectan y se influencian y que tienen como punto en común la certeza que el modelo de desarrollo imperante en la economía mundial no es sostenible en el futuro.
La Bioeconomía busca conjugar la utilización sustentable de la biomasa con la aplicación de nuevas tecnologías, como la biotecnología, la nanotecnología y bioinformática, o de viejas tecnologías renovadas, como la química verde. Se propone la industrialización de las economías a partir de la biomasa, poniendo por delante la seguridad alimentaria. También se propone el desarrollo de la economía de servicios poniendo el énfasis en los servicios intensivos en conocimientos ligados a los recursos naturales. La digitalización en curso tiene un papel importante en la Bioeconomía, así como la economía circular. De esta forma, la Bioeconomía como modelo de desarrollo se inserta en el debate actual sobre el desarrollo basado en recursos naturales.
Los actores relevantes del desarrollo de la Bioeconomía, son las Cadenas Globales de Valor (CGV), las Cadenas Regionales de Valor (CRV), el Estado y otros actores del Sistema Nacional de Innovación. La conjunción de todos estos actores globales, regionales y nacionales son esenciales para lograr que la explotación de los recursos naturales pueda ser positiva para el crecimiento avanzando en la incorporación y generación de tecnología, la diferenciación de productos, el procesamiento local y la difusión de encadenamientos y derrames.
Resaltan cinco estrategias nacionales de Bioeconomía. En países como Alemania que disponen de pocos recusos naturales y una gran fortaleza tecnológica y empresarial; en países con importantes recursos naturales como Argentina, Brasil y Malasia con menores capacidades tecnológicas, pero con base empresarial en la explotación de los recursos naturales y en un país (Finlandia) con base de recursos naturales, tecnológicos y empresariales. La Bioeconomía puede ser simplemente una estrategia de “business as usual” en los países con abundantes recursos naturales si no está centrada en la diversificación productiva, la sustentabildiad y la generación de empleos de calidad. Además, el abandono de los procesos productivos lineales y su sustitución por procesos circulares ha de ser el nuevo sentido común en la gestión de la producción.
Dos casos para Uruguay ilustran la aplicación más concreta de la Bioeconomía. La idea fuerza de los casos expuestos es analizar cómo está implantada la CGV en Uruguay y cuáles son las posibilidades de escalar en ellas. La mejor forma de analizar si la gobernanza de una CGV permite el escalamiento de las empresas locales es concentrarse en la forma cómo se implanta en Uruguay. Eso mismo hacemos a través de dos estudios de caso. En el caso de la Bioeconomía basada en el sector forestal, hay importantes oportunidades de futuro para producir bioproductos a partir de la biomasa de base forestal. También las hay en el caso de la biomasa agrícola para producir
2
biocombustibles aéreos. Pero sin la implantación de una estrategia clara para aprovechar dichas oportunidades difícilmente se logre escalar dentro de este paradigma. Las CGV o CRV a desarrollar por medio de la Bioeconomía están enraizadas con la inserción internacional de la región. Y éstas requerirán de dimensiones que trasciendan los procesos basados sólo en la promoción de IED en sectores primarios y en una apertura comercial indiscriminada.
La política productiva y de innovación deberá estar bien orquestrada, articulando los actores que conforman y completan la cadena. Por ello, una política central es el armado de la trama de la cadenas y la detección de los actores con capacidades criticas en ella.
En suma, para poder escalar dentro del paradigma de la Bioeconomía, es vital el papel activo del Estado implementando políticas públicas focalizadas en generar esos derrames esenciales para el desarrollo genuino. Es decir, el énfasis ha de ponerse en la creación de capacidades productivas e innovadoras “desde adentro”.

The concepts of bioeconomy, green economy and circular economy share the common objective of developing a sustainable economy, and they attract enormous political, academic, social and business interest. However, an analysis of these concepts in the fields of economics and business management is lacking. The objective of this article is to classify the publications on these topics by subject of study, to analyse trends in publications and to guide researchers interested in selecting articles. The review was performed using Scopus for the period 1960 to 2017. Four hundred and forty-nine publications were obtained and classified into 17 categories. The results show that the existing literature is rich in analysing implemented policies and issues related to the strategies and organizational models of companies looking for a more sustainable path, and research in China and the European Union is highlighted. However, there is still a long way to go in researching implemented case studies and evaluating the economic impact of these concepts. For this to happen, the need to promote, encourage and support companies to implement cleaner production and approach a more sustainable path must be prioritised. Possible gaps in current research that allow future lines of work are also identified.

Sažetak: u radu se bavim pokušajem kasnog Foucaulta da ocrta bitno drugačiju paradigmu socijalne dinamike unutar postindustrijskog društva kasne moderne. Foucault prikazuje konstelaciju odnosa u kojoj je moć znansteno-tehnologijske proizvodnje i manipulacije života izrodila razdoblje post-politike (neoliberalizma), odnosno biopolitike. Tradicionalno (pred-novovjekovno) shvaćena (Aristotel), politika se razumije kao topos artikulacije pluralnosti interesa i odluka bitno podložnih deliberaciji ili kao umijeće (spontanost) onog mogućeg pri uređenju ljudske zajednice (polis). Biopolitika pak, s druge strane, jest „utrnuće političkog“, tj. oblik post-politike koji se odlikuje automatizmom, formalizmom, a u stanju post-ideološkog neoliberalnog konsenzusa kriterij političkog odlučivanja je vođen isključivo principom efikasnosti, tržišne profitabilnosti i održavanja statusa quo.
U središnjem dijelu poseban naglasak posvećujem shvaćanju (kontekstualiziranju) pojma rada s bioetičkim implikacijama koje proizlaze iz analitičkog sklopa biopolitika – rad – bioetika. Novovjekovno shvaćeni koncept rada razumije kao osnovna bio-ekonomska kategorija društva te se upravo kroz njega vidi da se razdoblje kasne moderne (biopolitike) rađa u okvirima bio-ekonomije (nastojanja uvećanja proizvodnih snaga) u kojoj se metabolizam čovjeka skupa s okolišem iskorištava na unaprijed određen način.
U tom kontekstu, potencijal onog političkog reducira se na puko bioupravljanje kroz optimalizaciju kapaciteta života koja pretendira na to da isključuje tijela (subjekte) iz svijeta života, dok one koje uključuje (političko tijelo) usmjerava na određene promišljene, isplanirane, racionalizirane i efikasne aktivnosti.

Ključne riječi: biopolitika, neoliberalizam, biomoć, bios, zoē, Agamben, Foucault, Lazzarato

The industrialization process that started in the 1800s has reached Industry 1.0 - 2.0 - 3.0 and Industry 4.0 with the development of today's technology. The digital transformation brought about by the 21st century has had a great impact on Industry 4.0. In digital transformation, concepts such as artificial intelligence, artificial learning, internet of things (IoT) seem indispensable for Industry 4.0. These elements of digitalization are used in all industrial processes and it is seen that there will be a more digital intensive process in the future.
The dizzying change experienced in Industry 4.0 actually constitutes the infrastructure of the Community 5.0 understanding. This understanding, which emerged for the first time in Japan, expresses robot and human cooperation. While robots will be included in some jobs and approaches in the future, human influence will continue on some jobs. The main purpose here is for the society to live a more comfortable life in more integrated systems. Society 5.0 aims to create both a knowledge-based and data-based society. In addition, the concept of bio-economy, which includes the correct and trouble-free use of biological resources, is included in the understanding of Society 5.0. So, Society 5.0 also creates its own economy.
In this study, which was prepared as a compilation, it was discussed how the Society 5.0 understanding aims to create a society and what kind of an economy this understanding will bring with it.

This concluding reflection of the Colloquy on Mobile Livings [Cultural Anthropology 37(1), 2022] considers how the bioeconomy, as an analytical lens, may cast light on processes of colonization beyond the territorial frame of spatial domination, settlement, and exploitation. Examining the power to colonize with special reference to the politics and policing of migration, it shows how certain migrants have come to serve as a laboratory in the quest to extract value from life itself—which itself links back to historical colonizations. What we may call a “new anthropology” is taking shape at the confluence of algorithms of artificial intelligence, mechanisms of finance and surveillance, and the multipolar geopolitical world emerging amid the Western project’s demise. Understanding the new frontiers of value extraction of this piecemeal yet powerful (quasi) science of humankind constitutes a crucial analytical task for us “old anthropologists,” and the bioeconomy may serve as a tool in this endeavor.

In this paper, we criticize the current focus of the bio-based economy (BBE) on efficiency and control and demonstrate the contradictions that this causes. We elucidate these tensions by comparing the BBE to alternative conceptions of economy that emphasise the relevance of both the human condition and unfathomable nature in the macro ecological transition project. From Emmanuel Levinas's philosophy, we take and extrapolate two major concepts-il y a and enjoyment-that help to reevaluate the status of both nature and the human subject involved in environmental instability. From this analysis, we evaluate current economic practice in close relation to the deteriorating environment to contribute to a conception of an economy that is truly based on principles of the biosphere. We conclude that humankind and nature are notions that must be always considered in this encompassing and topical effort and explain how they have been fundamentally overlooked in current thought on the bio-based and circular economy.

Żywność genetycznie zmodyfi kowana oraz technologia stosowana przy jej produkcji niewątpliwie stanowią przedmiot kontrowersji oraz wywołanej nimi debaty społecznej. Proces społecznej akceptacji nowych rozwiązań technologicznych wykorzystywanych do produkcji żywności
wykazuje wiele cech zbieżnych z podobnymi procesami odnoszącymi się do innych kategorii technologii. Jednak specyfi ka tych pierwszych polega przede wszystkim na tym, że produkty wytworzone z ich zastosowaniem stanowią jedno z najważniejszych i niezbędnych do przetrwania dóbr dla każdego człowieka – żywność. Dlatego też obawy konsumentów oraz proces szacowania ryzyka zasługują na wyjątkową uwagę ze strony nie tylko przedstawicieli nauk przyrodniczych, ale również humanistów.  Biorąc pod uwagę zainteresowanie oraz kontrowersje, jakie budzi wykorzystanie organizmów genetycznie
zmodyfi kowanych w produkcji żywności, należy dokonać analizy czynników warunkujących percepcję nowych rozwiązań technologicznych, a także proces ich akceptacji przez konsumentów.
Analizie poddano takie czynniki jak percepcja ryzyka, społeczny odbiór nowych technologii, wpływ stosowanej terminologii w procesie komunikowania o ryzyku, znaczenie posiadanej wiedzy oraz dostęp
do informacji, uwarunkowania społeczno-demografi czne oraz zaufanie do podmiotów informujących o technologii. Następnie podjęto próbę sprawdzenia, które z wymienionych czynników mają wpływ na proces akceptacji żywności genetycznie zmodyfi kowanej w państwach członkowskich Unii Europejskiej, Stanach Zjednoczonych, Republice Południowej Afryki oraz Chińskiej Republice Ludowej.

This collection of papers builds on the idea that the bioeconomy provides a framework for potentially effective solutions addressing the grand global challenges by a turn towards an increased use of biological resources, towards renewability and circularity. Consequently, it cannot be perceived as an end in itself. Thus, innovative endeavors within this bioeconomy framework require a serious examination of their normative premises and implications. From different perspectives, the five contributions to the collection demonstrate that for a bioeconomy that is to contribute to the transformation towards sustainability, inquiries into norms, values, and paradigms of innovators and other stakeholders are indispensable. Originating in the spirit of an interdisciplinary workshop on the "The Normative Dimension of Transformations towards a Sustainable Bioeconomy", the collection at hand provides an attempt to facilitate an increased commitment of social sciences into bioeconomy discourses. We learn: the bioeconomy is on the rise as it is, but whether it will guide us the way towards an equitable, environmentally sound, and future-proof economy, heavily depends on the normative guardrails imposed by science, society, and business.

This essay responds to German theorist Thomas Lemke's call for a conversation between two distinct lines of reception of Foucault's concept of biopolitics. The first line is comprised of sweeping historical perspectives on biopolitics, such as those of Giorgio Agamben and Antonio Negri, and the second is comprised of the more temporally focused perspectives of theorists such as Paul Rabinow, Nikolas Rose, and Catherine Waldby, whose biopolitical analyses concentrate on recent biotechnologies such as genetic techniques and the biobanking of human tissues. This essay develops this conversation by bringing the two lines to bear on the neoliberal " bioeconomy " that has developed over the past three decades and uses the perspective of Italian theorist Roberto Esposito to represent the first line. Esposito's unique combination of Foucauldian biopolitics and the Maussean gift tradition provides a critical perspective that engages and challenges the neoliberal inclination of many theorists from the second line.

Despite elaborate efforts at Science Technology and Innovation (STI) policy enunciation, Africa has yet to optimally engage with how best to locate and position Indigenous or traditional knowledge (IK/TK) and its stakeholders in the new and emergent technological dynamics often designated as the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and its bioeconomy components. Given the disconnect over IK/TK systems in African STI policy instruments, the paper argues for a deliberate indigenous knowledge sensitive continental STI strategy without excluding integral opportunities in other realms such as intellectual property. Such approach to STI is necessary to ensure that Africa is well positioned to leverage and optimise its factor endowments in indigenous knowledge and underlying systems for its production. Indigenous knowledge is crucial for continental Africa’s participation and ability to benefit from all facets of knowledge production under the 4IR innovation ecosystem. The significance of indigenous knowledge and its ramification for STI in Africa continues to resonate in the context of the push for equitable access to the benefits of science, technology and innovation especially taking into account the bioeconomy adjunct of the 4IR.

There is the growing demand for biofuel and bio based energy due to the depletion of the conventional fossil based resources. Thus, the estimation of the current resources of these alternatives and their future availability become imperative to maintain a sustainable supply in the future. The information presented in this study was collected through an intensive search and consultation of existing databases, which was thereafter corroborated by coordinating with authenticated sources of several national and state level departments, universities, institutes and agencies. The set of information collected and compiled included biomass from three major sectors: forestry, agriculture and bio-wastes, in India. Based on the compilation of this secondary data, the results of the current study provide a general overview on the total biomass resources currently present and the surplus available in the country. This inventory of available biomass was carried out as one of the objectives of an Indo-EU networking initiative SAHYOG, indicated a substantial amount of biomass resource through agricultural residues and municipal solid waste. It also indicated that although India has a considerable amount of area under forest cover, this resource is largely untapped due to the current government policies. The study also showed that India could generate a total of 4506.04 MW biomass based energy and was provided to the national grid by mid-2013, which are due to the implication of the policy frameworks of the Indian government towards alternative energy sources. This study also tries to provide a comparative analysis of Indian bio-fuel policy with those existing in few other countries. Thus, the current study presents an overview, trend and availability of biomass along with the current status of bioenergy in India. This can form the basis to develop a roadmap for the transition towards a bio based economy in the country.

How do living beings - especially nonhuman individuals and communities - come to bear capitalist value or not in contemporary social relations? The “or not” of the question is crucial. This is because our analytical approach, drawing from feminist and postcolonial theorizing, is one that keeps us focused on value’s necessary others: the bodies/communities designated as waste or even superfluous. Our aim is therefore to attend to the role that difference and hierarchies play in the production of value. Accordingly, we present a typology of five orientations nature can take in relation to capitalist social relations: officially valued, the reserve army, the underground, outcast surplus, and threat. What our typology predominantly suggests is that to accumulate, capitalism needs natures – the creative forces of natures – ordered in a variety of positions within society, not just as commodities. No position is without violence and exploitation. The typology may also be useful for shedding light on how liberal states (and other actors) regulate nonhumans by seeking to shift their orientation. To add some initial specificity to our analysis, we consider how these nonhuman orientations are produced in part through law, especially laws regulating nonhuman nature. We focus on the law because it is a prime tactic for achieving social order (especially ordering nonhumans, as the law capitalizes and cares for living things), and because it is a crucial site in which difference is produced and the designations of valued and unvalued are formalized and consolidated.

El objetivo de este documento es mapear y analizar las políticas relevantes de la bioeconomía uruguaya.
Un conjunto de agencias estatales y organizaciones han conformado un Grupo de Coordinación para elaborar, lanzar e implementar una Estrategia de Bioeconomía Sostenible (EBS) en el año 2020. Dicho Grupo trabaja articuladamente con varios organismos internacionales y actores de la academia, de organizaciones de la sociedad civil, del sector privado y de otras agencias estatales.
El Grupo de Coordinación adoptó en 2019 una definición de bioeconomía que conjuga varias definiciones propuestas por organismos internacionales. Ésta es la siguiente: La bioeconomía es una economía basada en la producción de bienes y servicios a partir del uso directo o la transformación sostenible de los recursos biológicos, aprovechando los principios y procesos biológicos, la ciencia y la tecnología. El Grupo de Coordinación decidió trabajar complementariamente sobre los tres paradigmas de Economía Circular, Economía Verde y bioeconomía.
El desarrollo basado en la bioeconomía converge con la literatura económica reciente sobre las oportunidades de los recursos naturales para asegurar un desarrollo económico genuino en América Latina y el Caribe (ALC). La transición hacia la bioeconomía es inevitable porque el sistema económico actual depende fuertemente del uso de combustibles fósiles y esto no es sostenible en el tiempo. La transición hacia la bioeconomía tendrá un sendero de transformación estructural, seguramente involucrando la mayor parte del siglo XXI.  Se puede esperar, además, que la relación de fuerzas entre los actores a nivel geopolítico (proveedores de biomasa, proveedores de conocimiento, productores de combustibles fósiles y otros) se transforme en este siglo. 
Uruguay tiene grandes ventajas para insertarse internacionalmente de forma exitosa a través de la bioeconomía. La utilización sus recursos biológicos, considerando la biodiversidad y los servicios eco sistémicos de los recursos naturales renovables, y su industrialización tienen el potencial de ser el motor del desarrollo productivo sostenible y basado en el desarrollo social y territorial.
No obstante, todo depende de lo que logre hacer Uruguay para generar ventajas competitivas en la nueva economía global. Enfrenta dos opciones claras para el futuro: continuar en el sendero histórico para integrarse al mundo como proveedor de alimentos y otros productos de base primaria a las cadenas globales de valor existentes. Un esquema que ha servido en el pasado, pero que presenta limitaciones de diversificación productiva, de sustentabilidad ambiental y expectativas de bienestar hacia el futuro; o, aprovechar los recursos e inversiones existentes y que pueden servir de base para una nueva estrategia de desarrollo de cara a la diversificación sostenible de la matriz productiva a través de la bioeconomía.
La EBS es un instrumento para planificar ese nuevo rumbo de desarrollo productivo sostenible para Uruguay dentro del contexto de la Estrategia de Desarrollo 2050 y la Agenda Internacional de Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible.
En Uruguay no se han definido políticas de desarrollo productivo cuyo objetivo explícito sea la promoción de la bioeconomía de forma explícita. Si bien el Consejo Alemán de Bioeconomía clasifica a Uruguay como país con estrategias vinculadas a la bioeconomía debido a la existencia del Plan Sectorial de Biotecnología y a la estrategia Uruguay Agrointeligente.  También existen otras políticas de desarrollo productivo vigentes que están relacionadas con la promoción de la bioeconomía tanto de alcance horizontal como vertical. A lo anterior se suma que en los últimos años se han elaborado varios instrumentos de planificación para el fomento del desarrollo sostenible más específicos (es decir para el ambiente, el cambio climático, el agua, etc.).
La matriz productiva del futuro tiene como punto de partida el complejo productivo agro y agroindustrial actual. La EBS tendrá como objetivo principal transformar sosteniblemente esa base productiva en función de tres grandes grupos de complejos productivos: i. complejos productivos tradicionales al que la EBS deberá transformar con Valor Agregado Ambiental; ii. nuevos (o renovados) complejos productivos que industrializan la biomasa para producir una gama amplia de nuevos productos industriales bajos en carbono; iii. nuevos complejos productivos conformados de servicios de apoyo (los que también tienen Valor Agregado Ambiental).

Circular Economy identifies a set of practices that could reduce the exploitation of non-renewable natural resources, thus contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions in order to limit the rise in average terrestrial temperature as set by the
COP21 Conference in Paris. Circularity metrics are useful for empirically assessing the
degree of circularity in specific products, eco-industrial parks, cities and even nations.
In this paper, a method based on material flow analysis, the Ellen McArthur Foundation
Material Circularity Index (MCI), is applied to the production of an intermediate product, elastomer, an elastic polymer which constitutes the basic chemical component of synthetic rubber used mainly in tyres. The circularity of the elastomer production cycle of an Italian industry, Versalis S.p.A., is assessed. Some suggestions on how to increase it are discussed and quantified, in particular through the contribution of biobased materials. The present Material Circularity Index value is determined to be 0.23 in a 0-to-1 scale. The introduction of bio-based materials could increase this value up to about 0.66.
Limits are identified in the loss of material due to treat wearing.

This is the paper that has been published with the Bio-Based and Applied Economics journal. DOI: 10.36253/bae-9534

Abstract:
Over the past decade, the term bioeconomy has emerged in both policy and academic discourse.  Implying a technology-driven approach to wealth generation from organic materials, the term has taken hold with so far limited critical engagement. It is a contestable rather than contested term. Noting the rise of numerous other ‘economies’ (blue, green, circular) on a similar timeframe, this paper undertakes a critical discourse analysis of academic literature and UK/EU policy documents using the term ‘bioeconomy’ to produce a contextualized understanding of how it is used in both theoretical and practical contexts.  Our analysis shows that bioeconomy, as with the other ‘sustainability’ economies, which we term the ‘S-economies’, prioritises the economy and the markets as the solution brokers for the environmental and economic problems they seek to address. The apparent fragmentation of the theory and policy concerning the environmental sustainability of economic activity is expressed through the variability of terms that aspire to establish multiple economies functioning at the same time.  Limited empirical analysis of the existing ‘bioeconomy’ is symptomatic of the dissociation between theory and practice, emphasizing technological approaches favouring capital intensive approaches over local solutions. The S-economies, including the bioeconomy, are an attempt to bypass economic structural realities that otherwise would need to be addressed.

In France, genetic data are not covered by property laws. They are considered to be equivalent to a part of the human body, to be protected rather than as something of economic value. However, in this highly competitive world, France must find solutions to increase the scientific and economic values of its genetic data. One possibility would be to define genetic data as raw information with no value for use. The choice of such a value of use (clinical, scientific, economic, etc.), following various key analysis and treatment processes will thus transform genetic data into useful information. In this case, and under certain conditions, intellectual property law could consider this information to be an original creation with an economic value, whilst maintaining current levels of protection for genetic data. France thus faces a choice between changing its laws concerning the protection of genetic data, bringing them into line with the North American approach, according to which data are a form of capital that everyone has the right to increase or sell, and making the distinction between genetic data and information clearer.