Risks Management of Gmos in Usa and Eu Opportunities for Implantation in Less Favoured Countries

INTRODUCTION

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been introduced in the agricultural system and on the market of consumer goods since about 20 years, initially in the USA but also increasingly in developing countries. Since the discovery of genetic engineering, with its potential to modify DNA of living organisms, discussion and controversy have been abundant. Europe has witnessed a particularly strong resistance to the introduction of GMOs in agriculture and for consumer food products, both from consumers, national governments and from the UE. Because of the complexity of food products, research on the safety of GM foods is most difficult. Through a lot commissions or forums, countries are discussing standards for GMOs and ways to ensure their safety but the results are mostly different between USA and UE. The Politics in biotechnology aren't solely based on equations of risk analysis but offers also a detailed cultural analysis of the regulatory differentiation of modern agricultural policy between America and Europe.

The potential of GMOs to upset the balance of nature is a concern of the public. GMOs are "novel" products which, when released, may cause ecosystems to adjust, perhaps in unintended ways. There is also concern about the possibility that genetic "pollution" will result from out-crossing with wild populations.

In a world where population will increase from the present level of six billion to nine or twelve billion (depending different estimations) and where the best agricultural land is diminishing through urbanization, industrialization and infrastructure for transport development, while deforestation and expansion of agriculture in marginal land constitute serious blows to fragile ecosystems, GMOs could be a solution. Potential benefits of biotechnology and the necessary safeguard measures for health and environment must be brought within the reach of everybody, including the poor and the most disadvantaged, ensuring food and environmental safety as an integral and critical part of this research and development process. Clearly, it is not possible to make generalizations about GMOs, the good intentions often hiding behind mercantile interests.

The paper starts off in the first section with the European vision of risk management with the GMOs and continues with a comparative concerning the North American approach. The second part deals with the consequences for the environment, health and nutrition of the introduction of GMOs in less favoured countries.

1. EUROPEAN APPROACH

1.1 MORATORIUM

Since the mid-1990s, products and foods created from genetically modified organisms have been regulated within both the European Member States and the institutions of the EU. Furthermore, the EU has adopted the precautionary principle as a primary concept, which in theory regulates biotech processes, rather than products.

A number of the Member States and environmental groups have also been a driving force behind this process. It resulted in imposing in 1998 of a moratorium on all GMOs, first adopted by France and Greece, then Italy, Denmark, and Luxembourg, and finally by the EU Commission. While there was practically no EU regulation of biotechnology in the 1980s, there has been a steady progression toward very strict regulation of both GM-foods and crops, and since 2000 a substantial labelling requirement is necessary for GM inclusive products. This was followed by a labelling scheme that is applicable to all products produced in which GMOs can be detected (European Commission (EC) regulation no. 50/2000), even if not traceable or apparent in the final product.

The creation of an EU Food Safety Agency and the elaboration of more and stringent regulations were adopted. Also concerning labelling and traceability of the sources of food components, the precautionary principle was extended from environmental protection to consumer and health protection. The most important innovations in the 2003 regulations include: explicit inclusion of the principle of ‘consumer choice', by making the labelling and traceability requirements mandatory; formalizing the distinction between risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication

The tendency of the European Commission to approve the release of GM products, and the procedures by which these decisions are reached, have led to a basic failure by the EU to regulate GMOs in a satisfactory and harmonized fashion. This is what led to the 1998 moratorium. Additionally, public dissatisfaction with the capacity of the Commission to safely manage the potential risks of GM-foods led to individual Member States adopting their own regulatory schemes. That is, the increasing publicity accorded to food and environmental scares across