The Politics of Food Labeling and Certification - The Oxford Topic of Food, Politics, and Society - page 616

(Ferguson 2009). Hormones and antibiotics used in raising conventional food animals
give rise to concerns about health hazards and the development of antibiotic-resistant
strains of bacteria (Stephany 2001, Phillips et al. 2004). Although the government limits
the amount of many of these additives in all U.S. food production, consumers can select
from several certification standards to help them identify food that will further reduce
their exposure. Although the American Medical Association, the National Academy of
Sciences, and the World Health Organization have found no scientific basis for claims
that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) pose risks to human health, scientists are
only just beginning to document the longer-term effects of GMOs in laboratory feeding
studies. Skeptical consumers concerned about as-yet unknown effects of the technol-
ogy can avoid purchasing food bearing government-mandated GMO labels in the EU,
and such labeling initiatives are under consideration in the United States (Domingo and
Bordonaba 2011, Carter et al. 2012).
Often these certification initiatives operate at the intersection of the private sector, the
civil society sector, and the state. To lend clarity, food standards programs can be use-
fully divided into categories along two cross-cutting dimensions (see Figure 25.1). The
first dimension divides programs into voluntary standards (which firms may choose to
opt into or out of ) and government-mandated standards (to which firms are required
by law to adhere). The second dimension divides standards into those set and enforced
by the state and those set and enforced by non-state actors (including NGOs and the
private sector).
Whether a standard is voluntary or mandatory reflects more than just the institu-
tional arrangement for its enforcement. It provides a clue about where the issue in ques-
tion falls along the contested dividing line between public and private in our collective
political imagination. What is the appropriate role of the state in regulating private con-
sumption decisions? When should the government intervene in the market? The answer
has been, it depends on the issue at stake . We generally agree that states should govern
on issues related to safety, and that states should not govern on issues purely related
to personal conscience; we tend to disagree, however, about how particular issues fall

Legal status of regulation

Voluntary Legally mandated

State e.g. Organic e.g. Food safety laws

Non-State e.g. Fair trade

Figure 25.1 Food labeling schemes can be mandatory or voluntary in nature, and they can
be monitored by state or non-state actors.