Posted on 3-7-2003

SE Over GE In EU

(SE = Spin Engineering) There are many stories on this legislation change
already circulating. This BBC one puts the changes in a bad light, but many
stories are stating that the US is apoplectic with them because they
introduce strict labelling, which they say will still lead to an effective
ban. One US official is saying that the whole of Europe could become a GE
Free zone only because 'consumers won't want to buy it', basically making
it obvious that what they expected was to have concealed the knowledge so
that consumer who
didn't want to eat it just wouldn't know. Logic and understanding of human
nature seems to be a foreign concept to some.

"A stipulation in the new rules that any product derived from GM
ingredients but whose presence is undetectable - such as cooking oil -
should still be labelled as genetically modified has dismayed biotech firms."

And this statement shows that NZ labelling laws are nowhere as strict. Note
that Labour promised exactly this - that food produced by GE would be
labelled, in their election material, but it never eventuated.
....stu (stu@ihug.co.nz)

Euro vote ends GM food ban
2 July 2003, BBC NEWS

Laws which will end a European Union-wide ban on new genetically modified
foods have been passed by the European Parliament. The laws allow new GM
foods to be sold in Europe for the first time in five years, but only if
they are clearly labelled.

The EU's long moratorium has angered the United States and other GM
crop-growing states, which say they have been deprived of a huge export
market in Europe. They filed a suit with the World Trade Organization last
month arguing for the moratorium to be lifted as it was an unfair trade
barrier. The new rules have already been approved in principle by EU
governments, and could now become law by the autumn.

Anti-GM politicians and activist groups had called for the EU to keep the
ban and reject US pressure. But pro-GM groups said the EU would miss out on
economic and scientific benefits if it extended the moratorium any further.

Tougher measures

Europe's Consumer Affairs Commissioner, David Byrne, told the European
Parliament: "We have now come to the stage where we must lift the de facto
moratorium. "I believe we have got in place legislation... to enable
consumers to make the choice for themselves whether to consume GM foods or
not," he said. Under the new law, all foods with more than 0.9%
genetically-modified content will have to be labelled.

There had been some calls for the threshhold to be set lower, at 0.5%, but
parliament backed the 0.9% level which had already won the backing of
European ministers. The legislation also includes animal feed - previously
exempt from labelling rules.

Firms angry

Labels will have to read: "This product is produced from GMOs." In a
separate part of the package of measures, each EU country can, if it
wishes, impose restrictions on the way GM crops are grown to ensure is no
cross-contamination with conventional crops.

A stipulation in the new rules that any product derived from GM ingredients
but whose presence is undetectable - such as cooking oil - should still be
labelled as genetically modified has dismayed biotech firms. They fear such
tough labelling and traceability rules will hit sales in Europe.