BRIDGING THE GENETIC DIVIDE: CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES FOR GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

Genetically modified crops are now widely planted throughout the United States. To date, GM crops have not been modified for improved taste, appearance, or nutrition-benefits that would accrue directly to the public. Rather, ag-biotech companies have directed most of their energies toward developing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Jurimetrics (Chicago, Ill.) Ill.), 2003-10, Vol.44 (1), p.63-79
Main Author: Bratspies, Rebecca M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biotechnology
Consumer attitudes
Corn
Crops
Environmental agencies
Food crops
Genetically altered foods
Genetically modified foods
Industrial regulation
Plants
Sustainable agriculture
SYMPOSIUM: CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES FOR GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS
Transgenic plants
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Summary:Genetically modified crops are now widely planted throughout the United States. To date, GM crops have not been modified for improved taste, appearance, or nutrition-benefits that would accrue directly to the public. Rather, ag-biotech companies have directed most of their energies toward developing crops that can be grown more profitably in Iowa. While growers have embraced GM crops, the public has been less sanguine about both the science underlying GM crops and about the trustworthiness of ag-biotech companies. In angry and divisive exchanges, the technology's proponents and opponents have been typecast and vilified. This inability to communicate has grown into a vicious cycle of misunderstanding and mistrust. Civil dialogue has become all but impossible. This article proposes a series of confidence-building measures intended to break this cycle and permit GM advocates and opponents to move beyond empty rhetoric. These confidence-building measures focus on the environmental concerns that surround this technology and offer a way to create channels of trust and communication between the interested parties. Once communication is established, GM advocates and opponents should be able to begin a substantive dialogue about how GM technology can and should be exploited.
ISSN:0897-1277
2154-4344