NCJ Number
218413
Journal
European Journal of Criminology Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2007 Pages: 217-235
Date Published
April 2007
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This article explores the food crime debate by analyzing the trade and regulatory practices of genetically modified (GM) food.
Abstract
The analysis indicates that the production and trade of GM foods constitutes eco-crimes, including economic and environmental exploitation, risks to humans, and the manipulation of ecological sanctity. The author suggests that the implementation of an international environment court will provide a forum for coordinating the increasing amount of environmental law, including those laws that govern the production and distribution of GM foods. The author notes that eco-crimes such as GM food production and distribution produce transnational consequences that require international collaboration on crime prevention and justice. Globalization has caused a movement toward the commercialization and privatization of world food markets so that authority over economic and ecological resources related to food is no longer localized or territorial but is controlled instead by offshore organizations with market power. The control of food by offshore organizations has caused food crime to flourish because national criminal justice systems lack the jurisdictional authority to investigate and prosecute. The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety provides the legal mandate for developing countries to reject GM foods. It requires that all GM foods be labeled as such and that the distribution and trade in GM foods is illegal without the written consent of the receiving government. Despite this step forward, mechanisms to ensure compliance, liability, and redress remain an ongoing challenge. References