| European consumers are likely to accept some of the biotech food
products that they have vehemently rejected in recent years, but the
change in attitude will come slowly, an administrator for the European
Commission said Friday in Minneapolis.
"I am sure there will be consumer interest in these products,
particularly if they are cheaper," said Kim Madsen, administrator for
the Commissions' health and consumer protection division.
Madsen and other Europeans were in Minneapolis for a workshop on
agricultural biotechnology sponsored by the German Marshall Fund of the
United States. Participants included farmers and representatives of
interest groups from both sides of the Atlantic.
Karl-Heinrich Niehoff, a farmer from Gutshof, Germany, said that most
farmers in his country believe that genetically modified (GM) crops could
help cut production costs and improve Europe's competitive standing in
world agriculture markets. But they also worry that any gains could be
quickly lost without consumer acceptance: "It could be that we would
produce this and have no market."
The key to European acceptance -- and to ending the transatlantic food
fight that has pitted U.S. agriculture against European biotech foes -- is
labeling foods so that consumers will have a choice, said Europeans at the
meeting.
The European Commission proposed new rules this year for labeling foods
and feed made from such crops as corn, soybeans, tomatos, potatoes,
canola, sugar beets and squash. Officials also are moving to end a freeze
imposed in 1998 on some genetically modified crop varieties.
The proposed rules call for genetically modified food and feed to be
labeled as such: Labels would be required even in cases where tests cannot
measure a difference from conventional fare such as oils in which the
refining process breaks down the DNA and proteins associated with inserted
genes.
To police the system, the proposal calls for tracing and documenting
every ingredient from farm to supermarket. Madsen said that a good share
of the tracing system already has been created because consumers demanded
more information about the origins and safety of their food.
No such labeling requirement exists in the United States. Farm groups,
genetically modified seed makers and food processors have argued that
because studies have found no unusual risks in the foods, there is no
reason to warn consumers and no justification for sorting and labeling
costs. The counter argument is that consumers have a right to choose
whether to eat the foods regardless of the risk.
European consumers have been adamant in their demand for labels. Their
resistance has been softening as studies find no evidence that the crops
pose a threat to food safety or the environment.
Still, consumer suspicion runs deep. Unless an "irrational
fear" of the foods is calmed, "GM is dead in Europe," David
Byrne, the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection said
in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., in October.
Madsen said the European Parliament is expected to begin considering
the proposed rules in January but it could be more than a year before
final rules are adopted. |