Pablo Lapegna’s book Soybeans and Power: Genetically Modified Crops, Environmental Politics, and Social Movements in Argentina received the 2017 Outstanding Book Award from the American Sociological Association’s Sociology of Development section. In presenting the award, Award Committee chair Jennifer N. Fish described the book as “...one of those beautifully written ethnographies that makes us feel like our field can brush shoulders with literature. While presenting such an eloquent ethnography, Lapegna also offers what Marc Edelman called “a magisterial contribution to social movement theory and the critical history of commodities.” Our committee noted this text’s exceptional capacity to capture the complex intersections of development and social movements with an empathetic lens into the daily struggles of communities in Argentina; who are both most adversely impacted by Genetic Modification technology and at the forefront of new forms of resistance enacted in order to survive.”
