Genetic Modification in Europe and the United States
For a Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) to go freely on the market in the United States, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (USDA-APHIS) requests that the manufacturer or distributer file a petition. The petition consists of the data and information outlined in the Code of Federal Regulation, which includes a description of the biology of the non-modified recipient plant, relevant experimental data, detailed description of the differences in genotype between the regulated article and the non-modified recipient organism, and a detailed description of the phenotype of the regulated article. These are just some of the several documents and data that must be presented in order for a GMO product to be granted non-regulated status.
Genetic Modification in Europe and the United States
Once the documents have been evaluated, the USDA-APHIS decides whether the GMO is just as safe as non-GM products. Then, it grants the GMO one of two labels: non-regulated status, essentially a carte blanche for the use of the GMO, or regulated status, which means the product is known or suspected to be a plant pest or to pose such a risk. In the case of regulated GMOs, the USDA-APHIS regulates their import, handling, interstate movement, and release into the environment. However, GM products proven to be just as good as non-GM foods are deemed safe for public consumption and are non-regulated. Therefore, in most states, the public needs not be informed by way of labelling of their consumption of these non-regulated products because these foods are just as good as “natural” ones. Furthermore, it is important to note that the differentiation between regulated and non-regulated status does not restrict the manufacturing, sale, or human consumption of GMOs, but rather the product’s handling as a crop and release into the agricultural field environment.
On the other hand, the European Union, which is a multi- and supra-national entity, seeks expert advice regarding GMOs more aggressively than the United States in order to create public policy about biotechnology. The institutions of the European Union prefer to err on the side of caution concerning GMO policy, more often than their counterparts in the United States. One of the main reasons behind this aversion to GMOs is that individual member states can exert their national sovereignty and opt out of general European Union policies. Therefore, in order to maintain its sometimes-fragile legitimacy, the European Union promulgates GMO policy that will not upset any sectors of its diverse population, particularly organic farmers. Furthermore, because the European Union must base its legislation on unclear “European values”, its institutions are sensitive to the reality that national publics are largely unsympathetic towards GMOs. Contrary to the United States, which regards biotechnology and genetic modification mainly as a harmless tool for the manufacture of products that can be assessed using regulatory principles, the European Union regards genetic modification as a technological process demanding special concern because of its intrinsic properties. Ultimately, in the European Union, policy relating to biotechnology falls under the jurisdiction of the European Commission, which, throughout its history, has created several sub-committees to deal with the issue of GMOs.