Amaranth as political agent

Abstract

This text explores amaranth as a political agent through an artistic and research-based engagement with the plant across diverse geographies and cultural contexts. Drawing on long-term fieldwork, personal observation, interviews, and historical research, it traces amaranth’s trajectory from a sacred, nutritious crop in ancestral Indigenous communities to its current status as a herbicide-resistant weed in transgenic agricultural systems. The project situates amaranth within the expansion of genetically modified soy agriculture in Argentina, highlighting its genetic variability, resilience, and capacity to disrupt agro-industrial monocultures. At the same time, it examines the plant’s persistence in Indigenous rituals, agroecological practices, and popular knowledge, revealing multispecies resistance that extends beyond purely economic or scientific frameworks. The essay proposes amaranth as an active participant in political, ecological, and cultural struggles, challenging anthropocentric perspectives and dominant models of extractivist agriculture.