
Biotraffic
Medicines and Environmental Governance in the Afterlives of Apartheid
Christopher Morris(Author)
University of California Press
1st Edition
Published on 1. October 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
264 pages
978-0-520-40402-1 (ISBN)
Description
Biotraffic explores the complex world of biological resource trade. It takes readers inside the contemporary Ciskei region of South Africa, a once-notorious apartheid "homeland" turned extractive hub for wild medicinal plants. Drawing from in-depth ethnographic and archival research, Christopher Morris examines the region's trade in Pelargonium sidoides, a plant once contested as a tuberculosis treatment in early twentieth-century Europe and now an internationally marketed remedy for the common cold. The story of this trade links past and present, encapsulating a larger tale about colonial legacies and their intersection with global environmental governance ambitions. It also teems with a diverse cast of actors, from plant harvesters and pharmaceutical companies to activist NGOs and the chiefs who have become business partners with multinational drug firms. The book's analysis extends beyond considering merely the extraction and commercialization of plant resources and offers a critical examination of how demand for therapeutics intertwines with broader struggles over land and political power in South Africa. Biotraffic illuminates how a distance-defying trade is reshaping the sociopolitical landscape of a region-a region grappling with apartheid's afterlives and the challenges of environmental and economic justice.
More details
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkerley
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
9 bw figures, 1 map
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
363 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-520-40402-1 (9780520404021)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
10/2024
1st Edition
Naval Institute Press
€28.99
Available for download
Person
Christopher Morris is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at George Mason University.
Content
Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Prologue: Two Weddings and a Funeral
Introduction
Interlude: "My Boy, You Are in for It" (1897)
1. Patent Problems
Interlude: A "Secret Remedy" (1901-1909)
2. A "Homeland's" Harvest
Interlude: "Mountains of Prejudice" (1909-1914)
3. On Expansional Belonging and Ethnic Capture
Interlude: "The Doom of 150,000 People" (1915-1953)
4. Waiting
Interlude: The Red List (1920-2024)
5. Royal Pharmaceuticals
Conclusion: Old Boundaries, New Extractions
Notes
References
Index
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Prologue: Two Weddings and a Funeral
Introduction
Interlude: "My Boy, You Are in for It" (1897)
1. Patent Problems
Interlude: A "Secret Remedy" (1901-1909)
2. A "Homeland's" Harvest
Interlude: "Mountains of Prejudice" (1909-1914)
3. On Expansional Belonging and Ethnic Capture
Interlude: "The Doom of 150,000 People" (1915-1953)
4. Waiting
Interlude: The Red List (1920-2024)
5. Royal Pharmaceuticals
Conclusion: Old Boundaries, New Extractions
Notes
References
Index