The Economic and Marketing Challenges of Horticultural Biotechnology - Transgenic Horticultural Crops: Challenges and Opportunities - page 182

welfare costs. in. terms. of. delayed. or. foregone. innovation. in. nutrition,. production.
eficiency, and.environmental.mitigation. 54
The.E.U..lifted.its.moratorium.on.GM.products.in.2008.and.by.2010.had.deregu-
lated.its.irst.transgenic.event.in.more.than.a.decade..Nevertheless,.the.adoption.of.
GM. crops. in. Europe. declined. from. 2008. to. 2009,. and. Germany. instituted. a. ban.
on. the. production. of. GM.crops.. Spain. remains. the.only.consistent. and. signiicant.
adopter.of.GM.technologies.in.Europe,.though.the.land.it.plants.to.GM.seed.con-
stitutes.a.little.more.than.a.rounding.error.in.the.total.GM.land.base..Adoption.in.
Africa.continues.to.lag. 1
I dentIty p reServatIon , S eGreGatIon , and l abelInG
Despite.broad.consumer.opposition.to.GM.foods,.there.are.niche.markets.that.can.
be. served. by. particular. genetically. engineered. traits.. These. niches. may. be. under-
served,. however,. because. of. demands. from. consumers. and. regulators. that. foods.
derived.from.GM.crops.be.segregated..The.provision.of.GM.foods,.then,.may.require.
separate.transportation,.shipping,.and.labeling.facilities..Identity.preservation.of.GM.
and.non-GM.food.is.consistent.with.broader.trends.in.agriculture.and.food.produc-
tion.. Agricultural. commodities. are. increasingly. becoming. differentiated. products.
in.response.to.wealthier.and.more.sophisticated.consumers.who.demand.foods.that.
offer.environmental.and.health.beneits.relative.to.conventional.production..In.order.
to.serve.niche.markets.for.organic,.free-range,.hormone-free,.and.local.foods,.pro-
cessors.increasingly.contract.for.farm.output.in.order.to.ensure.quality.attributes.and.
traceability.
Identity.preservation.of.GM.foods.is.likely.to.be.more.dificult.than.in.other.con-
texts.for.a.number.of.reasons..First,.policies.on.GM.foods.vary.by.country..Some.GM.
varieties,.produced.in.the.United.States,.for.instance,.have.not.been.approved.in.the.
E.U..Heterogeneous.policies.require.processors.and.distributors.to.maintain.a.high.
level.of.food.purity.or.risk.access.to.foreign.markets..More.than.40.countries.have.
adopted. labeling. regulations.. The. United. States. is. most. lax,. providing. voluntary.
labeling. guidelines. for. GM-free. food,. but. imposing. no. requirement.. Only. foods.
that. are. substantially. different. from. their. conventional. counterparts,. with. respect.
to.nutritional.content,.for.instance,.require.labels..The.E.U..is.most.strict,.requiring.
labeling.of.GM.foods.with.a.0.9%.tolerance.for.adventitious.presence.of.GM.crops. 55 .
Australia,.Japan,.South.Korea,.and.China.have.adopted.stringent.regulations,.while.
Canada,.like.the.United.States,.has.no.labeling.requirement.
Strict. mandatory. labeling. creates. a. disincentive. for. use. of. GM. ingredients..
Following.the.adoption.of.labeling.requirements,.GM.food.disappeared.from.store.
shelves.in.the.E.U..and.Japan. 56 .As.Lapan.and.Moschini.noted,.the.European.regula-
tion.requires.food.produced.from.a.GM.ingredient.to.carry.a.GM.label.regardless.
of.whether.the.inal.product.contains.DNA.or.protein.of.GM.origin. 57 .Against.such.
a.standard,.the.cost.of.avoiding.commingling.throughout.the.supply.chain.is.likely.
to.be.enormous.and.prohibitive,.prompting.irms.to.source.from.suppliers.who.do.
not.handle.any.GM.products..Such.regulations,.with.low.tolerance.thresholds.while.
intended. to. improve. consumer. welfare. by. allowing. consumers. to. choose. between.
GM.and.conventional.products,.practically.kill.the.market.for.GM.foods.