(Don't) let them eat cake

Abstract

Brussels, 2027: The recent decision of the European Council of Environment Ministers to uphold the bans imposed by 12 EU member states on the growing of wheat has caused consternation and confusion. The Council voted to reject the Commission's recommendation that the bans be declared unlawful, overturning the unanimous advice of a panel of scientific experts. The issue is not only one of ecological concern; it also has major public health implications, and obvious ramifications for trade policy. In its decision the Council also emphasized the cultural importance of member states’ agricultural and gastronomic traditions. The countries that have taken a stand against the cultivation of wheat argued successfully that, as a genetically modified crop, wheat posed a serious threat to the wild grasses of central Europe and the Mediterranean. Even with the standard 300 metre quarantine zone, the promiscuous nature of wind pollination and seed dispersal makes it impossible to guarantee that wheat will not damage the natural environment, with potentially catastrophic effects on biodiversity. The Council invoked as a precedent a seminal …