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March 31/00 / Reuters / By Julie Vorman

SAN DIEGO - Mike Donnelly, the outgoing chairman of the National Grain and Feed Association was cited as saying that U.S. grain companies should launch a grassroots lobbying campaign in Washington to counter environmentalist and consumer groups' efforts to block river transportation improvements and free trade with China, adding, "We should not underestimate the ability of these groups. We've seen what they did to biotech food."

An outcry from environmental and consumer groups over the safety of genetically-altered food has prompted the U.S. government to review its policy on the regulation of biofoods.

A host of committees have also been created by the U.S. Agriculture Department and various federal agencies in the past few months to study biotech crop issues, along with several bills in Congress that would tighten regulation of genetically modified foods.: