---
title: "Genetically modified food controversies"
chunk: 19/21
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food_controversies"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:17:47.717639+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

==== United States ====
Four federal district court suits have been brought against Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the agency within USDA that regulates genetically modified plants. Two involved field trials (herbicide-tolerant turfgrass in Oregon; pharmaceutical-producing corn and sugar in Hawaii) and two the deregulation of GM alfalfa. and GM sugar beet. APHIS lost all four cases at trial, with the judges ruling they failed to diligently follow the guidelines set out in the National Environmental Policy Act. However, the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide ban on GM alfalfa and an appeal court allowed the partial deregulation of GM sugar beets. After APHIS prepared Environmental Impact Statements for both alfalfa and sugar beets they were approved.
In 2014, Maui County, Hawaii approved an initiative calling for a moratorium on GMO production and research. The initiative specified penalties including fines and jail for knowing violations and did not limit its scope to commercial agriculture. The initiative passed by about 50.2 to 47.9 percent.
On December 15, 2015, the New York Times ran an op-ed titled "Are You Eating Frankenfish?", saying that the United States congress will debate whether genetically engineered salmon should be labeled.

==== European Union ====

Until the 1990s, Europe's regulation was less strict than in the U.S. In 1998, the use of MON810, a Bt expressing maize conferring resistance to the European corn borer, was approved for commercial cultivation in Europe. However, in the 1990s a series of unrelated food crises created consumer apprehension about food safety in general and eroded public trust in government oversight. A bovine spongiform encephalopathy outbreak was the most publicized. In 1998, a de facto moratorium led to the suspension of approvals of new GMOs in the EU pending the adoption of revised rules.
In the mid-1990s, government approval of some GMO crops in the United States precipitated public concern in Europe and led to a dramatic decrease in American exports to Europe. "Prior to 1997, corn exports to Europe represented about 4% of total US corn exports, generating about $300 million in sales ... For example, before 1997, the U.S. sold about 1.75 million tons of corn annually to Spain and Portugal ... But in the 1998–99 crop year, Spain bought less than a tenth of the previous year's amount and Portugal bought none at all."
In May 2003, the US and twelve other countries filed a formal complaint with the World Trade Organization that the EU was violating international trade agreements, by blocking imports of US farm products through its ban on GM food. The countries argued that the EU's regulatory process was far too slow and its standards were unreasonable given the scientific evidence showing that the crops were safe. The case was lobbied by Monsanto and France's Aventis, as well as by US agricultural groups such as the National Corn Growers Association. In response, in June 2003, the European Parliament ratified a U.N. biosafety protocol regulating international trade in GM food, and in July agreed to new regulations requiring labeling and traceability, as well as an opt-out provision for individual countries. The approval of new GMOs resumed in May 2004. While GMOs have been approved since then, approvals remain controversial and various countries have utilized opt-out provisions. In 2006, the World Trade Organization ruled that the pre-2004 restrictions had been violations, although the ruling had little immediate effect since the moratorium had already been lifted.
In late 2007, the US ambassador to France recommended "moving to retaliation" to cause "some pain" against France and the European Union in an attempt to fight the French ban and changes in European policy toward genetically modified crops, according to a leaked diplomatic cable.
20 out of 28 European Countries (including Switzerland) said No to GMOs until October 2015.

==== Australia ====
In May 2014, the Supreme Court of the Australian state of Western Australia dismissed "Marsh v. Baxter".  The plaintiff was Steve Marsh, an organic farmer, and the defendant was Michael Baxter, his lifelong neighbour, who grew GM canola.  In late 2010, Marsh found seeds from Baxter's crop in his fields.  Later, Marsh found escaped GM canola growing amidst his crop.  Marsh reported the seed and plants to his local organic certification board, and lost the organic certification of some 70 per cent of his 478 hectare farm.  Marsh sued on the grounds that Baxter used a method of harvesting his crop that was substandard and negligent, and on the basis that his land had been widely contaminated.  In its summary judgment, the court found that approximately 245 cut canola plants were blown by the wind into Marsh's property, Eagle's Rest. However, Baxter's method (swathing) was "orthodox and well accepted harvest methodology". "In 2011, eight GM canola plants were found to have grown up as self-sown volunteer plants on Eagle Rest", which "were identified and pulled out", and "no more volunteer RR canola plants grew on Eagle Rest in subsequent years".  The summary judgment stated that the loss of organic certification "was occasioned by the erroneous application of governing NASAA Standards applicable to NASAA organic operators as regards GMOs (genetically modified organisms) at the time". and that "[t]he absence of a reliable underlying evidentiary platform to support a perpetual injunction against swathing was a significant deficiency".
On June 18, 2014, Marsh announced that he had filed an appeal. One ground was the costs of $803,989 awarded against him. The appeal hearing commenced on 23 March 2015 and was adjourned on 25 March "to deal with an order to ascertain whether Mr Baxter's defence has been financially supported by GM-seed supplier Monsanto and/or the Pastoralists and Graziers Association (PGA)". The Court of Appeal subsequently dismissed the appeal and ordered Marsh to pay Baxter's costs.