Coexistence or contradiction? GM crops versus alternative agricultures in Europe

Coexistence or contradiction? GM crops versus alternative agricultures in Europe

Agricultural biotechnology (agbiotech) has intersected with a wider debate about ‘sustainable agriculture’, especially in Europe. Agbiotech was initially promoted as an alternative which would avoid or remedy past problems of intensive agriculture, but such claims were soon challenged. Agbiotech has extended the dominant agri-industrial paradigm, while critics have counterposed alternatives cor...

Europe challenged on GM crops

Europe’s wrangling over its resistance to GM crops hit another point this month when one of the endless streams of Wikileaks reported in the media last month revealed that the US’s Paris embassy had advocated a trade war over the EU’s failure to accept GM crops. The leak said that, in a response to moves by France to ban a Monsanto GM maize variety in 2007, the ambassador Craig Stapleton, who w...

Precautionary uncertainty: regulating GM crops in Europe

Through the precautionary principle, governments acknowledge the limits of science as a basis for policy, while seeking to clarify scientific uncertainty. This tension is exemplified by the European risk regulation of genetically modified (GM) crops. The risk debate has been translated into various precautionary approaches, each with its own cognitive framing of the relevant uncertainties. Earl...

Europe opens the door to GM crops

Parliament has finally given approval to the commercial growing of genetically modified (GM) crops across the continent. The vote last month backs a new directive that will end a virtual three-year moratorium on granting licenses for the commercial development of GM foods. The standstill followed concerns about the impact of the new crops on the environment. " This is a significant step in term...

Ecology. Deciding the future of GM crops in Europe.