Europe adopted new regulations for genetically engineered crops in 1990.7 Rather than focus on the characteristics and qualities of the new crop varieties, the EU prioritized attention to the use of recombinant DNA technologies, even though this tells regulators nothing helpful in assessing or managing risk.8 Politics and special interests have driven the resulting process-based system, with groups such as Greenpeace, the Soil Association, and Friends of the Earth leading the charge.
Europe adopted new regulations for genetically engineered crops in 1990.7 Rather than focus on the characteristics and qualities of the new crop varieties, the EU prioritized attention to the use of recombinant DNA technologies, even though this tells regulators nothing helpful in assessing or managing risk.8 Politics and special interests have driven the resulting process-based system, with groups such as Greenpeace, the Soil Association, and Friends of the Earth leading the charge. The EU’s process-based system made it difficult to obtain permission for field trials, thus depriving what had been a world-class seed sector of the newest, safest technologies for variety improvement. The misguided regulations drove leading companies to relocate their R&D from the EU to the United States, further consolidating the U.S. lead.