Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
2
Governance of GMCrop and Food
Safety in the United States
Michael Baram
Introduction
The safety of GM crops and foods is an issue that causes great pub-
lic concern and stringent regulation in European nations and several
other countries. In stark contrast, it receives little public attention in the
United States, where GM crops and foods rapidly advance through per-
missive regulatory reviews into the marketplace.
This chapter discusses the American approach to governing GM crop
and food safety, and the cultural and political factors that shape this gov-
ernance system. It then describes and evaluates the major federal regula-
tory programs and common law liability doctrines as they apply to safety
issues and uncertainties in the development and marketing of GM crop
seed; the growing of GM crops and their harvest, distribution, and sale to
the manufacturers of processed food products; and the subsequent pro-
duction and marketing of GM food products.
Throughout the chapter, the fourfold concept of GM safety that was
identified earlier in this topic is addressed, namely whether the GM
enterprise poses unacceptable risks to public health, natural resources,
and conventional crops, and whether it reduces the consumer's ability to
choose and acquire non-GM food products.
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