THE U.K. WANTS TO LABEL ALL foods containing GM Opposition to
Genetics Blocks Trade
APO 19.06.97 15:23
Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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By CURT ANDERSON
AP Farm Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Use of genetics technology for farming and food, common in the United States, is viewed with suspicion in Europe and has become one of the Clinton administration's thorniest trade obstacles.
The standoff escalated again Wednesday when the European Union
approved rules requiring companies seeking approval of
gene-modified products to identify them as such on "a label
or accompanying document." All 15 member nations must comply
by July 31.
Ritt Bjerregaard, the EU environment chief, said the labels would
provide "valuable information for the consumer" and
were not intended to scare the public away from genetically
altered products.
But Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman told the Senate
Agriculture Committee earlier in the day that Europeans have
deep-seated fears that the products aren't safe, even if science
proves otherwise.
"It's based on ideology, culture, religion," Glickman
said. "The attitude is, it's not what God intended."
Although American officials expected the EU move, U.S. Trade
Representative Charlene Barshefsky told the Senate panel that
labeling or segregation of genetically altered products may
violate world trade rules and could trigger a U.S. complaint.
"That can't be tolerated, especially when segregation is done based on purely political goals, and not based on science at all," Barshefsky said. She said American farmers stand to lose up to $5 billion in European exports if sales of genetically-altered products lag because of these EU rules.
The fight is over use of genetic engineering for a wide range
of farm purposes, including making plants tougher against pests
and fattening cattle for market. The United States insists these
practices are perfectly safe.
Glickman planned to stress the subject today in a speech in
London to the International Grains Council, a private industry
organization the United States hopes will help change European
attitudes toward genetic modifications.
"Truth is truth. Science is science. We've got to keep pushing that," Glickman told the Senate panel on Wednesday. Sen. Dick Lugar, R-Ind., chairman of the Agriculture Committee, said Agriculture Department statistics show that by 2000, one-third of U.S. farm products will be sold overseas and that agriculture production worldwide must increase to meet a growing population. "Without the biotechnology changes, we're not going to get there," Lugar said. "We cannot yield on that. They (the EU) are going to have to get out of their funk."
The United States recently won a preliminary victory when a panel of the World Trade Organization ruled that the EU's ban on use of hormones in beef was unjustified because it was not based on science. Hormones are used in 90 percent of U.S. beef.
The Europeans are expected to appeal that ruling after it is finalized, and they remain opposed to other U.S. goods and commodities that have been modified genetically.