Home > Trade war over genetically modified food
The European Union and the United States have strong disagreements over the EU's regulation of genetically modified food. The US claims these regulations violate free trade agreements, the EU counter-position is that free trade is not truly free without informed consent.In Europe, a series of unrelated food crises during the 1990s have created consumer apprehension about food safety in general, eroded public trust in government oversight of the food industry , and left some consumers unwilling to consider "science" to be a guarantee of quality.
This has further fueled widespread ([1]) public concern about genetically modified organisms (GMO), in terms of potential environmental protection (in particular biodiversity), health and safety of consumers. Critics of GM foods contend that there is strong evidence that the cultivation of a genetically modified plant may lead to environmental changes. However, whether a genetically modified plant can itself harm the environment is a matter of controversy among scientists.
Although some claim genetically modified foods may even be safer than conventional products, many European consumers are nevertheless demanding the right to make an informed choice. Some polls indicate that Americans would also like labelling but it has not yet become a major issue. New EU regulations should require strict labelling and traceabilityTraceability refers to an unbroken chain of measurements relating an instrument's measurements to a known standard. Traceability can be used to certify an instrument's accuracy relative to a known standard. In the USA, national standards for weights and m of all foodFood is any substance normally eaten or drunk by living organisms. The term food also includes liquid drinks. Food is the main source of energy and of nutrition for animals, and is usually of animal or plant origin. The study of food is called food scienc and animal feed containing more than 0.5 percent GM ingredients. Directives, such as directive 2001/18/EC, were designed to require authorisation for the placing on the market of GMO, in accordance with the precautionary principleThe precautionary principle a phrase coined circa 1988, is the ethical principle that if the consequences of an action, especially the use of technology, are unknown but are judged by some scientists to have a high risk of being negative from an ethical p. (see also Tax, tariff and tradeThe tax, tariff and trade laws of a political region, state or trade bloc determine which forms of consumption and production tend to be encouraged or discouraged. All three are often changed by a trade pact. Typically all three types of laws must also be).
Despite the fact that no scientific study has yet shown genetically modified food to be harmful to humans, a 2003 survey by the Pew Research Center found that a majority of people in all countries surveyed felt that GM foods were "bad". The lowest scores were in the US and Canada, where 55% and 63% (respectively) were against, while the highest were in Germany and France with 81% and 89% disapproving. The survey also showed a strong tendency for women to be more opposed to GM foods than men. [2]
In 2002, Oregon Ballot measure 27 gave voters in that state one of the first opportunities in the United States to directly address the question. The measure, which would have required labeling of genetically engineered foods, failed to pass by a ratio of 7 to 3.
Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf, member of the German Green Party and vice president of the Landwirtschaftsausschuss (committee of agriculture) of the European CommissionThe European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities is the executive of the European Union. Its primary roles are to propose and enact legislation, and to act as 'guardian of the treaties' which provide the legal basis for the EU. said on the 1 July 2003: "In America 55% of the consumers are against GM food and 90% in favor of a clear labelling. The Bush government is ignoring the demand of his own people."
