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“Corporate Decisions and the Dual Democratic
Deficit in GM Food Labeling”
Chris
MacDonald,
Melissa Whellams,
Saint Mary's University
To be presented at the
annual
meeting of the Canadian Society for the Study of Practical Ethics, June
2005
Abstract
This paper develops a framework for
corporate response to the dual democratic deficit that has manifested
itself in the issue of labeling genetically modified foods.
A free market is commonly viewed as a democratic mechanism: it produces
and distributes goods according to public demand. GM food labeling seems
an instance of market failure: despite documented public desire for
labeling, the market has not responded. We call this failure of an
ostensibly democratic mechanism “Democratic Deficit #1.” The standard
solution to market failures is government regulation. In this instance,
the Canadian government has responded with a regulatory standard that
calls for voluntary labeling – essentially relying on market mechanisms
once again. That is, the government has failed to give Canadians what
they say they want. Call this “Democratic Deficit #2.”
Our project examines this “dual democratic deficit” from two
perspectives:
1) Does a “democratic deficit” always constitute a crisis? Under what
circumstances is a democratic deficit benign, and does the lack of GM
food labeling fit the bill?
2) How should well-intentioned corporations respond? Given the reasons
for government and industry inaction, should individual corporations
feel morally obligated to take action on their own?
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