Research On The Legal System Of Genetically Modified Food Labeling

With the development of genetically modified organisms,genetically modified foods have entered into people's daily lives.As there are some unknown risks in genetically modified foods,their safety has attracted the attention of many countries.Legislations and regulations have been adopted by countries in order to prevent the catastrophic impact that genetic technology may have on humanity.Among these regulations,the genetically modified food labeling system is undoubtedly an effective representative system.However,compared with developed countries such as the United States,the research and development of genetically modified technology in China is relatively late,and the construction of relevant legal systems is still in its infancy,and the labeling system of genetically modified foods(GM food)is not perfect.At the same time,although the safety of genetically modified foods is the focus of social attention,the theoretical research on the GM food,including the identification system,remains to be further examined.In this context,exploring the legal system of GM food undoubtedly has great theoretical and practical significance.There are four parts beside introduction in this dissertation.Part One is Overview of legal regulations of GM food labelling.This part first defines what GM food and labelling of GM food are.Then it discusses the theoretical foundations of the legal regulations of GM food labelling as well as the significance and usefulness of establishing such regulations,and finally types of such regulations.It is argued that the basis as well as the major purpose of the establishment of such regulations is the protection of consumers' right to know.To some extent,the concern of GM food labelling is not just a concern for the security problem brought by GM food.Rather it is a concern for the consumers' right to know that GM food has entered food sector.Part Two is Current legislative situation and problems in the regulations of GM food labelling in China.On the basis of figuring out the development of legislation on GM food labelling,Part Two summarises the major problems in the legislation of GM food labelling.Those problems include the low legal position and lack of a specific value goal in the legislation of GM food labelling.In addition,there is a lack of complementarity between different and not infrequently confusing regulations.Application scope of mandatory labelling is too narrow to reflect the development of transgenic technology.Regulations on what to be labelled is incomplete,vague and inconsistent.Regulatory mechanisms are not fully developed,and punishment on those who violate regulations on the labelling of GM food are too lenient to deterrent future violations.Part Three is Overview of regulations on the labelling of GM food in other countries and their significance to China.After examining regulations on the labelling of GM food in America,EU,Japan,Canada and some other countries,Part Three finds out that there are three major regulation types: voluntary labelling prevalent in America and Canada,mandatory labelling prevalent in EU countries,and a hybrid of voluntary and mandatory labelling prevalent in Japan.Such difference in regulation types is due to different attitudes to transgenic technology in those countries.In other words,how GM food are accepted varies among countries.As a result,the formulation of regulations on the labelling of GM food needs to be based on the condition of specific country,and give priority to people's needs.And finally a fully-developed legal systems and complementary regulations would facilitate the effective implement of regulations on GM food labelling.Part Four is Improvement of legal regulations on GM food labelling.It is argued that the major value goal of establishing regulations on GM food labelling is the right of life and health.The legislation principles includes the controlling of risks,protection of consumers' right to know,suitability to the current situation of China,and rationalism.This part also suggests that the legislative level of regulations on GM food labelling be raised,and regulations specifically targeting the labelling of GM food be established.Such regulations should follow the mandatory labelling type.In addition,there is the need to adopt ascientific labelling system,to introduce a reasonable prescribed threshold,to enlarge the applicability scope of the labelling,as well as to change the manner and standardize the form of the labelling.The second argument is that there is the need to manage the traceability of GM food,and to introduce regulations through which GM food are labelled all through their production process from field to table.The third argument is that there is the need to strengthen monitoring of GM food labelling,and reform the monitoring mechanism.The fourth argument is that there is the need to pass severe punishment by combining economic and criminal penalties in order to promote the development of the regulations on GM food labelling.And finally public interest lawsuits are highly encouraged in this field to protect consumers' right.