Governing the Transatlantic Conflict over Agricultural Biotechnology: Contending Coalitions, Trade Liberalisation and Standard Setting

The decision of the Environment Council of the European Union (EU) to impose a moratorium on the authorization of new genetically modified crops and foods has led to a high profile trade conflict with the United States. This book analyses the EU-US conflict over GMOs and uses it to explore the governance of new a technology. Although a lot has been written about the EU-US conflict over GMOs this book discusses aspects of the case that are rarely, if ever, reported and examined. This is particularly so with respect to the roles played by various transatlantic networks of stakeholders and the links between public controversy and changes in regulatory science in the EU and the US. This book will also deal with the EU-US conflict over GMOs as a case study through which to discuss broader issues, focusing particularly on how the case contributes to our understanding of the governance of new technology. This accessible book will appeal to undergraduate and post-graduate students, academics and policymakers working on a wide range of issues including international relations, politics, economics, geography, business management, environmental and development studies, science and technology studies.

Joseph Murphy is a Senior Lecturer in the Sustainability Research Institute at the University of Leeds Les Levidow is a Senior Research Fellow at The Open University, UK