AgBioForum, vol. 16, no.3 (2013)
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Item How Low Can You Go? The Consequences of Zero Tolerance(University of Missouri, College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources, 2014) Hobbs, Jill E.; Kerr, William A. (William Alexander); Smyth, Stuart J.Establishing tolerance levels for the presence of unwanted materials that may inadvertently become co-mingled with products that are acceptable in markets is a problem for regulators that requires arbitrary lines in the sand to be drawn. While the degree of tolerance is ultimately an arbitrary value -- because the full information necessary to make a non-arbitrary decision is never forthcoming -- decision making can be informed by theory, existing information, and where gaps in information lie. Where tolerances have been established that do not appear to have been informed, they should be re-examined if for no other reason than they may impose unnecessary costs on society. Zero tolerance has been imposed by regulators in a number of jurisdictions for unwanted materials that could co-mingle with products acceptable in the market. One such case is the European Union's (EU) policy of zero tolerance for co-mingling of unapproved genetically modified (GM) materials with agri-food products. This article uses two case studies related to the regulation of GM materials in the EU to examine the implications of zero tolerance. While the topic of the regulation of modern biotechnology has been the subject of much debate in the EU and globally, there appears to be little discussion of zero tolerance. Given that zero tolerance imposes considerable externalities on non-EU agri-food sectors as well as in the EU itself, it may be time to re-examine zero tolerance in an informed way.Item How Distorting Policies Can Affect Energy Efficiency and Sustainability : The Case of Biogas Production in the Po Valley (Italy)(University of Missouri, College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources, 2014) Mela, Giulio; Canali, GabrieleSimilarly to other EU countries, Italy began subsidizing electric energy production from renewable sources such as biogas. This proved to be an inefficient way of using available resources. In the Po Valley -- the most productive agricultural area in Italy -- the share of corn area used for biogas production increased from 0.4% in 2007 to more than 10% in 2012, reaching 18.2% in Lombardy. This, in a framework of declining acreage due to Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform, increases demand, competition for land, and agricultural prices, therefore pushing up production cost for livestock and, consequently, famous Italian quality products. Italy has started reforming its energy policy by incentivizing the construction of small manure-based biogas plants but more can and has to be done to promote a more efficient utilization of biogas, which, for example, can be upgraded into biomethane (with relatively low energy requirements) and injected into the natural gas grid.Item On the Economics of Crop Rotations to Inhibit Corn Rootworm Resistance Development(University of Missouri, College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources, 2014) Marra, Michele C.; Piggott, Nicholas E.; Goodwin, Barry K.Corn rootworm resistance to one of the corn rootworm traits has been found in a few isolated places in the Corn Belt. Several crop rotations have been proposed by industry officials and academics to attempt to eliminate or delay this resistance. Three of these rotation schemes are evaluated in this article as to their relative monetary returns, as well as other, non-monetary attributes of the rotations.Item Direct Democracy, State Governments, and the Re-energized GMO Debate : Implications of California's Proposition 37(University of Missouri, College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources, 2014) Clark, Lisa F.; Ryan, Camille D.; Kerr, William A. (William Alexander)It is often convenient to divide the world into those countries that have been generally accepting of agricultural biotechnology and those that are not. While the debate over biotechnology continues to rage where biotechnology has not been accepted, in adopting countries the debate is often seen as being over. This has been the case for the United States. In fact, the debate over agricultural biotechnology has continued but has not had a high profile. The debate in the United States has been re-energized due to California's 2012 Proposition 37, which would have required labeling of GM-foods in the state. Given the importance of California in both the national food system and national politics, Proposition 37 had national and international ramifications. While Proposition 37 was rejected by a narrow margin, it has spurred other state- and municipal-level initiatives regarding the regulation of biotechnology. This article examines the political dynamics underlying Proposition 37 and the economic implications of similar regulatory initiatives becoming law in the future. The article argues that proposed measures can have a major influence on attempts to regulate in other jurisdictions.