GMO as a Sustainability Issue - Governing Risk in GM Agriculture - page 207

also be attributed to the opposing dominant principles of “substantial
equivalence” (USA) and “precaution” (EU); or, even more succinctly,
as “innocent until proven guilty” in the United States versus “guilty until
proven innocent” in the EU. 24
The European public's reaction to GMOs has been characterized by
mistrust of both regulatory institutions and the technocratic approach
to risk assessment and management. Whereas the Eurobarometer sur-
veys conducted between 1991 and 2002, and other sources 25 register
the familiar concerns about “tampering with nature” and environmen-
tal and health consequences (allergens, outcrossing, super-weeds), the
public appears to recognize and accept the scientific uncertainty with
which regulatory agencies must deal. 26 Rather, the public questions the
ability of scientists to serve the public good, as well as the ability of
government agencies to produce wise policies. A European researcher
recently 27 used focus groups to decipher public opinions about risks,
experts, and regulations in five European countries. The study concluded
that there is little knowledge of regulatory institutions and a lot of skep-
ticism about them, especially since the mad cow disease incident. The
study also documented widespread feelings that the bureaucracies favor
formal procedures over actual safety and big corporations over small
firms. The extreme specialization of scientific research also came under
fire, in addition to the strong connections between science and industry.
The study indicated the public's overarching mistrust of ambition-driven
2002); L. Pellizoni, Democracy and the Governance of Uncertainty. The Case of Agri-
cultural Gene Technologies, 82 Journal of Hazardous Materials 205-222 (2001).
24 S. Lieberman & T. Gray, The So-called 'Moratorium' on the Licensing of New Genet-
ically Modified (GM) Products by the European Union 1998-2004: A Study in Ambi-
guity, 15 Environmental Politics 592-609 (2006).
25 Frewer et al., Societal Aspects of Genetically Modified Foods, 42 Food and Chemical
Toxicology 1181-1193 (2004).
26 L. Pellizoni, Democracy and the Governance of Uncertainty. The Case of Agricultural
Gene Technologies, 86 Journal of Hazardous Materials 205-222 (2001).
27 Id.