European Union law
Unprincipled 'Precaution'
IPN Opinion article
India is only the latest country to retard technological progress in the name of safety.
Europe finds you can be too careful
IPN Opinion article
This article examines Europe's precautionary approach to regulation. IPN director Julian Morris, author of Rethinking Risk and the Precautionary Principle, argues that
""The fact that if you applied the precautionary principle to itself it would self-destruct means that it will be replaced by more rational ways of evaluating risk".
Why precautionary principle can damage wealth and health
IPN Opinion article
THE World Trade Organization dispute between the EU and the US, Canada and Argentina over the EU's longstanding moratorium on genetically modified (GM) crops ñ due to be decided this week ñ is not about winners and losers. It is about the so-called precautionary principle, which has theoretically allowed the EU to close its borders to a large portion of the world's agricultural produce. The result of this case could have ramifications throughout the world, particularly for other innovative industry sectors.
GM Foods: Africa caught in the war
IPN Opinion article
The United States of America and the European Union have transferred their battle on genetically modified foods to Africa. 12 million people in Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia are in urgent need for food.
The case is very much similar to the story of John Harrison of United Kingdom who struggled in the Seventeenth Century for 40 years to prove that his mechanical clock was the answer to the longitude and accurate position location on earth and not stars as most people in the scientific establishment believed. The whole world presently takes little notice of the history of longitudes and wristwatches they wear. The genetically modified organisms [GMOs] despite rigorous scientific tests to ascertain whether they are harmful to human beings or not have been subjected to the same precautionary principle that saw John Harrison toil all his life.
