Article

2003-05-13 Europe

US to confront EU on genetically modified foods

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Posted by Anonymous 2003-05-13 06:28 am|| || Front Page|| [7 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 "David Byrne, EU health and consumer safety commissioner, on Monday described the US timing as 'eccentric'. He said the moratorium would be lifted by the year's end, well before the WTO can rule on the dispute."

In truth EU has passed laws that demand that GM products are clearly labelled as such. Companies seem to oppose such labelling because they feel it'll scare away consumers.

But why shouldn't the consumer have the right to know about the product he's eating? I'm all in favour of labelling products.

Posted by Aris Katsaris 5/13/2003 4:54:13 PM|| 5/13/2003 4:54:13 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 Europe uses this as a pretext to keep American goods out of Europe. Look at the hypocrisy. They eat stuff like horsemeat and they're worried about genetically supercharged corn?

Posted by ColoradoConservative 2003-05-13 09:55:58|| 2003-05-13 09:55:58|| Front Page Top

#3 Forgive my ignorance, but why should Europeans be worried about horsemeat?

Posted by Aris Katsaris 2003-05-13 11:12:47|| 2003-05-13 11:12:47|| Front Page Top

#4 Aris has a point; in Europe, horses are bred and raised for slaughter just like cattle. Therein lies the obvious idiocy about GM foods, though, as deliberate choice of breeding stock is, and has been for centuries, one method of genetic modification that no-one has protested.

Where's the beef?! :-)

Posted by MommaBear 2003-05-13 12:08:01|| [site-essential.com] 2003-05-13 12:08:01|| Front Page Top

#5 mmmmmmm...genetically altered corn.

Posted by tu3031 2003-05-13 13:17:30|| 2003-05-13 13:17:30|| Front Page Top

#6 The European GMO-phobia is as rational as its GWB-phobia. Neither is a result of serious personal investigation or logical. As Mommabear points out, many examples of genetic modification pose the same kind of threat as crossbreading and selective breeding (i.e none), but the public has allowed itself to be persuaded that every plant that's passed through a lab is some kind of foliage-clad Frankenstein's monster. Like DDT, sensibly applied GM technology could make living conditions for the world's poorest immeasurably better.

Posted by Bulldog 2003-05-13 13:43:03|| 2003-05-13 13:43:03|| Front Page Top

#7 The irony is that Euro's smoke cancer sticks (cigarettes) to no end, yet throw hissyfits over GMO - which scientific studies have declared safe.

What is truely sad is the hidden protectionism of the EU. By using GMO scare tactics, 3rd world countries with starving populations have turned away needed food stocks for no good reason.

Posted by Anonymous 2003-05-13 14:24:03|| 2003-05-13 14:24:03|| Front Page Top

#8 tu, your misunderstanding of GM corn is obvious. Nobody is growing 7 foot corn cobs, most of what is being done is to make it more resilient to natural "harms" (pests, weather conditions, etc) The purpose is to make every acre of farmed land more efficient, not to make the "Incredible Hulk" of corn. You don't hear about the problems it causes to Americans, because it doesn't cause any. Or maybe Bush forces the press to keep shut. That must be it.
BTW, wasn't Mad-Cow disease caused by the anti-GM crowd that was feeding cows to cows?
MOoooooooo on my nuts. Bovine.

Posted by Mike N. 2003-05-13 14:26:20|| 2003-05-13 14:26:20|| Front Page Top

#9 Is my troll detector going off?

Bulldog, I agree. It's sad that Europe uses a potential windfall for its starving, African sphere of influence as a bargaining chip to support its agricultural protectionism.

Tragic, but not unexpected. Just look at Chirac's toadying with Mugabe...a man who has singlehandedly starved a country that once exported crops.

Posted by mjh 2003-05-13 16:07:02|| 2003-05-13 16:07:02|| Front Page Top

#10 These bastids should be arrested the minute they cross state lines back into Texas.

Posted by Rex Mundi 2003-05-13 16:22:48|| 2003-05-13 16:22:48|| Front Page Top

#11 "David Byrne, EU health and consumer safety commissioner, on Monday described the US timing as 'eccentric'. He said the moratorium would be lifted by the year's end, well before the WTO can rule on the dispute."

In truth EU has passed laws that demand that GM products are clearly labelled as such. Companies seem to oppose such labelling because they feel it'll scare away consumers.

But why shouldn't the consumer have the right to know about the product he's eating? I'm all in favour of labelling products.

Posted by Aris Katsaris 2003-05-13 16:54:13|| 2003-05-13 16:54:13|| Front Page Top

#12 A lot of the horsemeat consumed in France comes from...America & Canada. The overnight Air France 747s from Toronto and Mirabel are usually full of frozen cargo.

Posted by john 2003-05-13 18:58:28|| 2003-05-13 18:58:28|| Front Page Top

#13 Well, David Byrne, you know, is just a "Talking Head."

Posted by R. McLeod 2003-05-14 01:57:31|| 2003-05-14 01:57:31|| Front Page Top

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