The Hormone Dispute

The uneasy relationship between science and the law is explored through this history of the long-running dispute between the European Union and a number of other countries over the EU's ban on the production or importation of meat treated with growth hormones. The core of the debate was the opportunistic use of scientific evidence as a basis for politically motivated legislation, in this case the elimination of foreign competition on supposed health grounds. The case went through many rounds of challenge and arbitration in the WTO and GATT. The role of scientific evidence in the creation of legislation is discussed in depth, along with the role of international bodies in dispute settlement.