The Precautionary Principle 91Raymond Gehman/NG Image Collection
*ÀiV>ÕÌ>ÀÞÊ«ÀV«iÊÀÊiVVÊ«ÀÌiVÌöÊUÊ}ÕÀiÊ{°£ÈÊÊ
Is Europe’s ban of U.S. beef the result of its concern over the safety of hormone-treated beef or an excuse to support the European
beef industry? Photographed on a range in Wyoming.
definitive answers to policy makers dealing with environ-
mental and public health problems. The developers of
a new technology or substance must prove that it is safe
instead of society proving that it is harmful after it has
already been introduced. However, the precautionary
principle does not require that developers provide abso-
lute proof that their product is safe; such proof would be
impossible to provide.
Certain laws and decisions in many European Union
nations have incorporated the precautionary principle,
and some laws in the United States have a precautionary
tone. In 2000, Christine Todd Whitman, then governor
of New Jersey, said in a speech to the National Academy
of Sciences:
Policy makers need to take a precautionary approach to
environmental protection.... We must acknowledge that
uncertainty is inherent in managing natural resources,
recognize it is usually easier to prevent environmental damage
than to repair it later, and shift the burden of proof away
from those advocating protection toward those proposing an
action that may be harmful.The precautionary principle has generated much
controversy. Some scientists fear that the precaution-
ary principle challenges the role of science and en-
dorses making decisions without the input of science.
Some critics contend that its imprecise definition re-
duces trade and limits technological innovations. For
example, several European countries made precau-
tionary decisions to ban beef from the United States
and Canada because these countries use growth hor-
mones to make the cattle grow faster. Europeans con-
tend that the growth hormone might harm humans
eating the beef, but the ban, in effect since 1989, is
widely viewed as protecting the European beef industry
(}ÕÀiÊ{°£È). Another international controversy in
which the precautionary principle is involved is the cul-
tivation of genetically modified foods (discussed fur-
ther in Chapter 14).
Climate change is an area where the precautionary
principle is often invoked. Increasing the amounts of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere not only causes
global warming, but will lead to a variety of economic,