The project was initiated by investigating the story of the GE papaya in Hawaii, where the transgenic variety “Rainbow” has been commercially grown and consumed for eight years. For the next stage of research, a similar approach will be employed to investigate the controversies in developing countries where GE papaya is being developed or is ready to be implemented. Four countries have been thoughtfully chosen as sites for a twelve-month, field oriented exploration of GE papaya: Thailand, Bangladesh, Australia and Mexico.

Through interviews with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, three primary questions will be addressed: 1) What is the perceived need for GE papaya in these countries? 2) To what degree do farmers with limited education versus more educated NGO activists understand the technology and its potential consequences such as pollen flow, biosafety and food safety concerns? 3) What are the economic concerns and ideological issues raised by farmers and other stakeholders? Most significantly, through homestays in rural villages where papaya is an important food staple, the needs and viewpoints of subsistence farmers will be collected in a qualitative way to effectively bring their voices forth to publications read by the general public.