Abstract: | A central piece of regulatory policies governing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has been the creation of expert bodies aiming at evaluating the risks of releasing these organisms into the environment. Taking into account an institutionalist approach based on the legal-economic nexus, the aim of this paper is to present the Brazilian experience in the regulation of GMOs. This experience is revealed as a biased process by which democratic principles, such as transparency and public participation, are obliterated by a technocratic model of regulation aiming at guaranteeing legitimacy for a decision-making process aligned with interests of technology providers. |