GM food labeling - The interplay of information, social values, and institutional trust

The battle over genetically modified foods is one reflecting ongoing battles over controversial science, and the labeling of these foods is one arena in which these controversies are played out. This article argues that labeling represents attempts to balance consumers' rights to information, their desires for foods with preferred qualities, industry interests in beneficial production arrangements as well as matching market preferences, regulatory interests in consumer protection, and interests of the state in promoting innovation. On another level, labeling, like many other science controversies, represents the social dimensions within which technology is embedded. It is symbolic of public confidence and trust in institutions and is reflective of the social values consumers may bring to bear in their conceptions of a technology.