Dimitrios Efstathiou

From Cyberlaw

Public Perceptions on Biotechnology: GM foods

Just some brief thoughts about the general public's view of biotechnology, both in the U.S. and "across the pond" ... when speaking to my relatives in Greece about biotech, the conversation immediately focuses on genetically modified (GM) foods. I think a many Americans would be surprised to learn about how much resistance there is to GM foods in Europe.

The EU has been struggling for the past decade to create a uniform, observed procedure for GM foods- not only for those foodstuffs coming in from the US, but also for the crops grow on the continent. No new GM crops have been approved for cultivation in the EU since 1998, and recent polls show that over 70% of Europeans do not want to eat GM "franken" foods. Biotech giant Monsanto has been trying for several years now to gain access to the European market with their highly profitable U.S.-grown GM soya, but to no avail. One of the possible explanations is the powerful farmer unions across Europe that are loathe to pay burdensome patent royalties for the crop formulas to large corporations like Monsanto.

Apart from some active student groups in universities and some vocal NGOs, I am not aware of any serious opposition to GM foods in the U.S. I believe our class focus on medical drugs and devices is indicative that GM foods do not resonate in the U.S. public's perception of biotech - unlike in Europe. I curious as to why that is the case... both contient's have strong farming lobbies, and both U.S. and European public and governments embrace certain aspects of biotech... I'll explore further... --Defstath 14:35, 20 March 2006 (EST)