I hate GMOs. Unfortunately, I cannot choose not to eat them. They are ubiquitous in most of our food here at this point. But, I am frustrated to no end that I can't even look at a label and know if it is GMO.
Just label them. Why is that so hard? Why must the State Dept, the USPTO, and the FDA bend over backwards to let Monsanto and ADM bend me over forwards by limiting my knowledge. [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img]
Can there be any more personal decision than what you eat? Isn't it every bit as personal a choice as who you have sex with? Why, then, let a big Agri-Corp dictate to me that I simply cannot have this information regarding food content?
Anywho, more news on biotech from the EU:
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Biotechnology
Parliamentary Committee Backs Controls
Despite Opposition From U.S., Commission
BRUSSELS--Defying pressure from the United States and the European Commission, the European Parliament's Environment Committee approved amendments May 22 that call for stricter traceability and labeling of genetically modified organisms.
In addition, EU lawmakers in the Environment Committee approved amendments that would demand rules to protect organic and conventional farmers from cross pollination infiltration of GMO crops.
Coming on the heels of the U.S.-led WTO challenge against the EU, the Environment Committee amendments would be likely to extend for a considerable period of time the EU's current moratorium on GMOs, Commission and EU biotech industry officials said. The amended legislation still must get overall plenary approval during a second reading in Parliament in July.
Standard Seen as Impossible to Meet
One of the most important amendments approved by the Parliament Environment Committee would set a low threshold of so-called "adventitious" or accidental contamination from GM animal food and feed products. The minimum allowable level would be set at 0.5 percent of a product as opposed to 0.9 percent, which was approved by the Council of Agriculture Ministers in late November.
The European Commission, EU member states, and the biotechnology industry have consistently argued that a 0.5-percent threshold is scientifically impossible to achieve.
"If these amendments are approved by the plenary, they will definitely make lifting the moratorium a lot more difficult," Commission spokeswoman Beate Gminder said. "In some ways, you could say this was a snub to the United States."
Protecting Farmers From Contamination
The European Environment Committee also approved an amendment that calls for strict rules on how organic farmers and non-GMO farmers will be protected from the "contamination" caused by the spread of GMO crops. That amendment was welcomed by environmental groups as well as the leading members of the European Parliament in favor of the GMO ban.
"Today's vote sends an encouraging signal as it also shows that Parliament and, in particular, the Environment Committee is not prepared to give up its strongly held GMO views--not even under pressure from the WTO challenge launched last week by the United States," said Jill Evans, a Green Party member of Parliament from Wales.
The Commission proposal and the legislation approved in the Council of Ministers did not contain any regulations addressing the issue of "co-existence" of GMO crops and non-crops. The European Commission said the issue of co-existence should be dealt with at the member state level and through voluntary agreements.
The issue has attracted considerable attention in recent months. Greenpeace occupied the offices of biotechnology company Monsanto May 22 and insisted that guarantees against "GMO contamination" be provided.
Animal Food and Feed Ban
Other amendments approved by the Environment Committee would ban GMOS in all animal food and feed products in the EU that have not been authorized.
As a gesture to the United States, the Commission had proposed that some GMO food and feed products--which have scientific risk assessment approval but no authorization because of the de facto GMO moratorium--be allowed. Most of these are already in use in the United States and could be in shipments of foods exported to the EU.
Another amendment indicative of the hardline approach taken by the European Parliament Environment Committee insists that GMOs cannot be authorized in the EU until the labeling and traceability scheme is approved and implemented.
Industry Faults Timing of U.S. WTO Case
A senior official with the European Union biotechnology industry said the measures approved by the Environment Committee were typical of a pattern over the past five years.
"The fact is that every time we get close to approving the legislation and lifting the moratorium, opponents of GMOs move the goal post," said the industry official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "The fact is the opponents of GMOs will do what they can to make sure the moratorium stays in place."
At the same time, the EU biotechnology industry official questioned the timing of the U.S.-led WTO challenge.
"In our discussions with the United States, we emphasized that if they were going to launch a WTO challenge, it would be best to wait until after the traceability and labeling regulations have been approved," the industry official said. "The timing by the United States on this is certainly questionable, because there is a real risk now that it will harden the position of MEPs that might have been sitting on the fence on this issue."
All differences between legislation approved by the European Parliament and by the Council of Ministers must be resolved in a conciliation committee. That is not expected to happen until the end of 2003 at the earliest.
Once translation of the Environment Committee's amendments has been completed--a process likely to take several weeks--text of the document will be posted at
http://www.europarl.eu.int/committees/envi_hom.htm on the World Wide Web.
By Joe Kirwin