Conflict of Consumer Rights of Transgenic Foods

Today, despite objections and agreements, transgenic food has found its place in the food basket and the cultivated areas of transgenic products have increased 100 times since 1996 to 2018. However, sometimes in temporary circumstances, the right to food and food security may conflict with the consumers’ right to health and right to choice, and we must look for a solution. This article addresses conflicts of consumer rights as well as the government's role towards citizens using narrated sources and rational arguments after briefly referring to the rights of transgenic food consumers and outlining the views of proponents and opponents of transgenic foods.

The present study is a review study in which using the keywords food, food security, transgenic products and health, Persian and English articles and books published and indexed in different citation databases separately and in combination, with no time limit until at the end of 2019, were searched and analyzed after retrieval.

Providing food security to citizens is one of the most important tasks of governments and they try to prevent the increase of the hungry population and to maintain the citizens’ health and life by providing available and sufficient food. Proponents know the transgenic production as one way to achieve food security which improves human health by improving food quality. But opponents emphasize their harmful effects on human health and environment, arguing that they should not be released until their potential risks are carefully assessed. Although some Iranian laws emphasize the protection of health, in practice the necessary information has not been provided about transgenic foods, and therefore, in order to protect citizens’ health, governments are required to closely monitor transgenic foods and take into account the public interest if there is a conflict.