Genetic modification has met with much more resistance in Europe than in the United States. Why ...

In the E.U. alone, 174 localities have declared themselves GMO-free regions.
Europe is home to fewer megafarm businesses; most farm are small and most farmers till
their land and live near it. People expect to pay more for their food as a proportion of their
income than in the United States. Most people seem to think that the risks outweigh the
benefits.
The absence of the large businesses to lobby lawmakers, and the fear of the new among the
general population combine to make Europe less welcoming to GMOs. Most people
distrust the reassurance of safety by companies that profit from GM crops. There is faith in
Europe in the scientists harnessing biotechnology (especially the medical applications), but
no faith in the companies marketing GMOs in the absence of assured safety.
Americans are more subject to propaganda of the food cartels and less cognizant of what is
happening to the crops. Americans are less skeptical of bought opinions than
Europeans. The Bush administration, for economic reasons, has pressed Europe to open the
gates to U.S. imports that are GMOs.