GMO as a Sustainability Issue - Governing Risk in GM Agriculture - page 201

8 GMO as a Sustainability Issue
TheRoleof theGlobalReportingInitiative
PhilipJ.Vergragt 1 and HalinaSzejnwald Brown 2
Introduction
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) have been introduced in the
agricultural system and on the market of consumer goods in the last ten
to twenty years, initially in the United States but, increasingly, in devel-
oping countries as well. Since the discovery of genetic engineering with
its potential to modify DNA of living organisms, discussion and contro-
versy have been abundant. 3 Europe has witnessed a particularly strong
resistance to the introduction of GMOs in agriculture and for consumer
food products, both from consumers, national governments, and from
the EU. The public objections had numerous causes, including concerns
about food safety, risk assessment, ethics and equity issues, power rela-
tions, and mistrust of technocrats and public authorities. The resistance
in Asia, Latin America, and North America has been weaker than in
Europe, although some authors have voiced scathing criticism of the U.S.
1 Professor Emeritus of Technology Assessment, TU Delft, Netherlands; Research Pro-
fessor, Marsh Institute, Clark University, Worcester, MA, USA; and Senior Associate,
Tellus Institute, Boston, MA, USA, [e-mail]
2 Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, Clark University, Worcester, MA,
USA, [e-mail]
3 See M. F. Singer & D. Soll, DNA Hybrid Molecules, 181 Science 1114 (1973); See also
P. Berg et al., Potential Biohazards of Recombinant DNA Molecules, 185 Science 303
(1974).
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