The Pros And Cons Of The Cartagena Protocol

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Many of the pro-GMO nations, such as the United States, were worried that the precautionary principle advocated by the Protocol would become “justification for arbitrary and nonscience-based import-restrictive actions” (Gupta, 2000, p. 29). Anti-GM organizations would counter this belief with the assertion that the US acts in its self-regard to spread the use of GMOs. While the argument that the United States acted in their own self-interests is valid, that does not justify the actions of the European Union or anti-GM nongovernmental organizations. Regardless of public statements of moral reasoning, the intervention of a country does not occur without at least a little bit of self-interest on the part of the intervener. The hidden agenda of …show more content…

Once the Cartagena Protocol is removed, negotiation for a better agreement can begin. Too many important GM research projects have been stalled by overly complicated regulatory processes and the intervention of anti-GM NGOs. While everyone agrees upon the fact that biotechnology must be supervised, there is contention over how much regulation is needed. Where the Cartagena Protocol erred on the side of way to cautious, a new agreement that would address the issue in a more reasonable manner would help the region greatly. This new agreement would keep most of the clauses that resolved the concerns of the LDCs, such as it being mandatory to seek the consent of the host country before commencing on GMO research. A significant change will be seen in the approach towards GMO regulation and approval. The improved agreement will end the basis on the precautionary principle, which served as the backbone for most of the Cartagena Protocol’s arguments. The focus will be more on experiments and research done on the safety of GMOs instead of on the pseudoscience taught by ‘well-meaning’ NGOs. Individual countries should have greater command over their own countries than the dominating and often interfering Western powers do. Each country must be able to craft its own policy towards GMOs without the manipulation of countries that deem themselves more advanced. Only by letting countries cultivate their respective GMO policies will they be able to become less dependent upon foreign intelligence and more knowledgeable and therefore protected against misinformation. This can be furthered through clauses that create, within each of the countries, scientific academies that will have extensive knowledge about GMOs (among other scientific topics) and their potential dangers. This agreement must be tailored to the specific needs of

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