Abstract

Genetically modified foods have been one of the most hotly debated, contentious issues in food politics and policy over the course of the last multiple decades. Although being the recipient of overwhelming scientific approval since the 1980s, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) used for food production and consumption have met public unrest as well as regulatory scrutiny and backlash. Why is this? This article will display a theoretical justification for international public opposition to genetically modified foods as well as make the argument that this unfounded public opposition has become the basis for federal GM regulatory policies in the United States, the European Union, and sub-Saharan Africa. This will be presented through illustrating the vicious cycle of GMO opposition, a phenomenon born in wealthier countries such as the United States and those in the European Union that is then exported to sub-Saharan Africa through means of cultural affinity and influence, primarily with the European Union. It will be illustrated that sub-Saharan Africa could be reaping massive tangible benefits to its agricultural productivity and thus issues of food security and hunger if only the countries in sub-Saharan Africa would be willing to culturally accept genetically modified foods.