Changing Attitudes Towards GMOs

The United States is beginning to follow Europe's leading standard in the regulation of genetically modified crops. Recent scandals like the Monsanto case have caused a stir among the population, and some states are already considering stricter legislation.   

Yet according to The New York Times, just as attitudes towards GM foods seem to be changing in the U.S., opinions are shifting across the pond too, and in time they may come to bear on policy.

The U.K. Secretary of State for the environment, food, and rural affairs, Owen Patterson, announced recently that Britain is planning to invest more resources in agricultural technologies. This includes research into GM technologies.

U.S. and EU officials are still pursuing talks in the hopes of opening agricultural trade across the Atlantic. However stringent EU policies, which have permitted the growth of only one genetically modified crop in the past 14 years and require strict labeling of any and all GMOs, could be what keep American agricultural exports off European shelves.  

Support for a heightened awareness of GM foods is gathering momentum in the U.S., even while policies backslide in Britain. All the same, trade talks between America and Europe have not yet come to an agreement.