GMOs, International Law and Indigenous Peoples

This Article sprung from a desire to discover why—despite scientific uncertainty and the oft-cited precautionary principle in international law—genetically modified organisms are still allowed to spread via international trade and natural ecological cycles. While exploring this topic, it did not take long to come across the environmental justice impacts of genetically modified crops, and their particularly disparate impact upon indigenous peoples across the globe. Not only are GMOs threatening biodiversity and our planet, but also the very existence and cultural foundations of many indigenous groups. This Article seeks to answer the following questions: What are the international agreements that can be used to protect indigenous peoples against GMOs encroaching on their food security and food sovereignty? Why have these agreements, especially the precautionary principle, thus far failed to restrict the spread of GMOs, and protect the food sovereignty of indigenous peoples? Moving forward, how can international treaties, declarations, and conventions be enforced with regard to international GMO promulgation? * Casandia Bellevue is an academic in her final year of law school at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. She has long been interested in indigenous issues, but it was not until 2016 that she began exploring the field in the legal context and writing articles that touch on indigenous sovereignty and environmental justice. GMOs, International Law and Indigenous Peoples was written under the indispensable guidance of Nicholas A. Robinson, Gilbert and Sarah Kerlin Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law Emeritus at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law and Co-Director of the Global Center for Environmental Legal Studies, to whom she is eternally grateful.