The Globalization of Agricultural Biotechnology: Implications for Regulatory Compliance, Stewardship and Stakeholder Engagement

Abstract

In 1993, a Swedish researcher determined the contents of a typical Swedish breakfast traveled a distance equal to the circumference of the Earth before reaching the breakfast table. Twelve years later, a researcher in Iowa found that the ingredients of a carton of strawberry yogurt collectively traveled 2,211 miles, or 3,558 km, just to reach the processing plant. While the local-food movement has gained traction in some countries, the reality is that we (humanity) have a globalized food system.

Countries throughout the world import millions of metric tons of row crops and cereals such as corn, wheat, rice, soybeans and the by-products of those crops to sustain their people and economies. The US and Canada are major exporters of those crops and many other agricultural commodities and by-products. Therefore, every food producer, trader, processor, manufacturer and transporter within the US and Canadian value chains are impacted by the regulatory and political systems of the major agricultural export markets. It is not practical to think any domestic food system can act in isolation, ignoring the policies, regulations and consumer-demands in other markets.

The rapid introduction and mass-adoption of crops developed through biotechnology since 1996 have exposed the intricate relationship amongst agricultural regulatory bodies and their policies around the world. This chapter outlines the challenges of the globalization of agricultural biotechnology; discusses stewardship practices that standardize the introduction, cultivation and discontinuation of biotech products; and acknowledges the need to increase stakeholder engagement to provide more detailed and timely information about biotechnology, while also respecting and acknowledging the differences in public acceptance of biotech crops globally .

Appendix

Regulatory Approval Systems of the United States and Canada and Two Key Jurisdictions for the Cultivation and Importation of Transgenic Crops.

• United States

• Canada

• European Union

• Japan