Genetically modified food to be addressed

Controversy has surrounded the production and consumption of
genetically modified foods for decades, and the debate will
continue this afternoon at a panel discussion at the UCLA School of
Law.

The UCLA Evan Frankel Environmental Law and Policy Program and
the UCLA Institute of the Environment are jointly hosting the panel
titled “Regulation, Science, and Fear: What’s At Stake
In The Global Conflict Over Genetically-Modified Food?”

Organizers said they hope the event will broaden students’
understanding of the dispute behind GM foods, including the
scientific, social and legal ramifications.

“These are issues which people feel really strongly
about,” said Sean Hecht, event organizer and UCLA professor
of law.

Foods that are genetically modified have had their genes altered
in some way to enhance a certain characteristic, such as resistance
to pesticides or level of nutritional value.

These enhancements have many Europeans worried because they fear
that GM foods are unsafe for consumption, and that the
environmental affects of altering genes are grave, Rustiala
said.

In contrast to the resistance found in Europe to GM foods, the
United States has largely accepted them.

In fact, roughly 60 percent of the food in major U.S.
supermarkets has been genetically modified, Rustiala said.

The debate between the two points of view will be one of the
main points of discussion for the panel.

The event will feature panelists knowledgeable in the fields of
biotechnology, genetic science and international trade law, Hecht
said.

Issues such as food safety, environmental implications and how
GM foods should be regulated will frame the afternoon debate.

A discussion of the legal issues surrounding GM foods will
follow. Legal experts on the panel will focus on the role of the
World Trade Organization in issuing policies regarding GM
foods.

“Ultimately the big issue is how much deference we should
give to public fears and to what degree international deference
should matter,” Rustiala said.

The event will be held in Law 1420 at 4 p.m. and is free and
open to the public.