In addition to cultural differences,the quality of citizen engagement on GE foods has differed in the European Union and the United States.Whereas Americans are most often addressed in their capacity as consumers,Europeans often separate their roles in society into citizens first and consumers second Countries such as Denmark have a tradition of successful,in-depth citizen engagement on public issues that are perceived to have profound societal effects,including GE foods.These methods of citizen engagement have not been widely explored in the United States,where a dominant philosophy is to rely instead on market regulation,which focuses primarily on allowing individuals to make their value preferences known at the cash register. Concern about Threats to Pluralism With the rise of global markets,the establishment of the WTO,and the increased concentration in power by multinational corporations,many Europeans and citizens of developing countries believe that corporate consolidation in the agricultural food system,including the biotechnology sector,poses a threat to the values of pluralism.A first point of concern is that the trade context in which international discussions on modern agricultural biotechnology occur permits economic and scientific values to be raised almost entirely to the exclusion of other social,cultural,and ethical values.Concerns have also been expressed that the WTO Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights(TRIPS)agreement, which places primacy on the respect for intellectual property rights over other values,will primarily benefit industrialized countries over the welfare of developing countries that serve as stewards to the vast majority of the world's genetic resources.Consequently,the following issues have been implicated in the backlash against the use of modern biotechnology:the morality of bioprospecting,reductions in the world's biodiversity,the destruction of agrarian traditions,cultivating economic dependence on multinational corporations,access to benefits,and global justice. Peasant farmer and indigenous peoples'organizations have expressed concern that developments in modern biotechnology,along with the development of the International Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties(UPOV),could threaten their food sovereignty,which they believe is a prerequisite to achieving food security.Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to define their own policies and strategies for sustainable production,distribution,and consumption of food with respect for their own cultures and own systems of management of natural resources and rural areas.It is a term that was coined by Via Campesina--an international association of small farmers and peasants from around the globe.A key focus of the food sovereignty movement is strengthening people's political power by working with disadvantaged groups from around the world,including women,to build their organization,negotiation,and advocacy skills.Similarly,the Organization for African Unity (OAU), now the African Union,has developed a model law for the regulation of(1)access to biological resources,(2)community rights,(3)farmers'rights,and(4)plant breeders'rights.The most crucial features include the belief that breeders'rights are subordinate to farmers'rights,the belief that patent protection of any life form is prohibited,and strong support for the role of women.Although the OAU model law is based in provisions of international law(the CBD),it has recently come under challenge from the World Intellectual Property Organization,an organization whose mandate is to promote and protect intellectual property rights(ie,to enforce patent rights)and uphold the UPOV.How such developments will continue to unfold in the future is uncertain. ECONOMIC,SOCIAL,AND ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY When assessing individual applications of GE to food and agriculture from a food systems perspective, it is important to evaluate their characteristics according to the adherence to the principles of economic, social,and ecological sustainability.Sustainability is defined as "society's ability to shape its economic and social systems so as to maintain both natural resources and human life."Because HT and insect- resistant crops collectively account for the majority of the GE crop acreage planted globally(92%of theIn addition to cultural differences, the quality of citizen engagement on GE foods has differed in the European Union and the United States. Whereas Americans are most often addressed in their capacity as consumers, Europeans often separate their roles in society into citizens first and consumers second. Countries such as Denmark have a tradition of successful, in-depth citizen engagement on public issues that are perceived to have profound societal effects, including GE foods. These methods of citizen engagement have not been widely explored in the United States, where a dominant philosophy is to rely instead on market regulation, which focuses primarily on allowing individuals to make their value preferences known at the cash register. Concern about Threats to Pluralism With the rise of global markets, the establishment of the WTO, and the increased concentration in power by multinational corporations, many Europeans and citizens of developing countries believe that corporate consolidation in the agricultural food system, including the biotechnology sector, poses a threat to the values of pluralism. A first point of concern is that the trade context in which international discussions on modern agricultural biotechnology occur permits economic and scientific values to be raised almost entirely to the exclusion of other social, cultural, and ethical values. Concerns have also been expressed that the WTO Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, which places primacy on the respect for intellectual property rights over other values, will primarily benefit industrialized countries over the welfare of developing countries that serve as stewards to the vast majority of the world's genetic resources. Consequently, the following issues have been implicated in the backlash against the use of modern biotechnology: the morality of bioprospecting, reductions in the world's biodiversity, the destruction of agrarian traditions, cultivating economic dependence on multinational corporations, access to benefits, and global justice. Peasant farmer and indigenous peoples' organizations have expressed concern that developments in modern biotechnology, along with the development of the International Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties (UPOV), could threaten their food sovereignty, which they believe is a prerequisite to achieving food security. Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to define their own policies and strategies for sustainable production, distribution, and consumption of food with respect for their own cultures and own systems of management of natural resources and rural areas. It is a term that was coined by Vía Campesina -- an international association of small farmers and peasants from around the globe. A key focus of the food sovereignty movement is strengthening people's political power by working with disadvantaged groups from around the world, including women, to build their organization, negotiation, and advocacy skills. Similarly, the Organization for African Unity (OAU), now the African Union, has developed a model law for the regulation of (1) access to biological resources, (2) community rights, (3) farmers' rights, and (4) plant breeders' rights. The most crucial features include the belief that breeders' rights are subordinate to farmers' rights, the belief that patent protection of any life form is prohibited, and strong support for the role of women. Although the OAU model law is based in provisions of international law (the CBD), it has recently come under challenge from the World Intellectual Property Organization, an organization whose mandate is to promote and protect intellectual property rights (ie, to enforce patent rights) and uphold the UPOV. How such developments will continue to unfold in the future is uncertain. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY When assessing individual applications of GE to food and agriculture from a food systems perspective, it is important to evaluate their characteristics according to the adherence to the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability. Sustainability is defined as "society's ability to shape its economic and social systems so as to maintain both natural resources and human life." Because HT and insect￾resistant crops collectively account for the majority of the GE crop acreage planted globally (92% of the