The Political Economy of Regulation of Biotechnology in Agriculture - The Oxford Topic of Food, Politics, and Society - page 662

Chapter 27
The Political Economy
of Regulation of
Biotechnology in
Agriculture
Gregory D. Graff, Gal Hochman, and
David Zilberman
Introduction: Technical Change and
Schumpeter's “Creative Destruction”
Genetically modified (GM) crop varieties are effectively banned throughout Europe
and in many developing countries, and the direct use of genetically modified crops as
food for human consumption is limited to just a handful of niche agricultural products,
such as papaya, squash, and sweet corn, in just a few countries (Bennett et al. forthcom-
ing). This state of affairs has persisted for more than a decade despite the high adoption
rate of the technology by farmers in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, and
other countries where it has been approved, and despite a preponderance of evidence of
positive impacts, such as increasing yields and decreasing pesticide use, and despite the
consensus among major scientific bodies that food from GM crops is at least as safe as
food from crops developed using other breeding technologies (Newell-McGlouglin, this
volume). The GM varieties have, thus far, been widely adopted to produce cotton fiber in
North and South America; in some Asian countries, most notably India and China; and
in some African countries. The GM varieties are also widely grown for animal feed and
biofuel in North and South America. Restrictions on the cultivation and use of GM crops
products in Europe and other countries around the world are thus, clearly, not a result of
agronomic limitations or a lack of market value of the technology; rather, such restric-
tions are the outcomes of public decision-making processes reflecting the interplay of
sometimes conflicting economic interests of different groups within society.