The Making of a Pastureland Biome: American Scientists, Miracle Grasses and the Transformation of the Brazilian Cerrado

Abstract

This article examines the history of leguminous grasses in the Brazilian Cerrado between the early 1950s and early 1970s. The westward expansion of the Brazilian agrarian frontier was a massive ecological transformation, propelled by a transnational process that relied on a series of actors beyond the national borders, most notably the Rockefeller-sponsored IRI research institute. However, as the article demonstrates, this epistemic transformation was also crucially complemented by the ecological potential of a set of leguminous grasses that gave an essential contribution to the ecological reconversion of the Brazilian Cerrado. These sturdy nitrogen-fixing species grew extensively – and mostly autonomously – on these arid territories, propelling agrarian development in the region. However, while the successful interaction between anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic actors led to successful techno-scientific and economic results, it also led to severe socio-environmental consequences.