Agence France Presse | July 22, 2003
European Agriculture ministers on Tuesday officially adopted new rules on the labelling of genetically modified (GM) food products, European Union sources said.
The decision opens the way for the EU to lift its ban on GM products, which has been in place since 1999.
That moratorium has been challenged by the United States, which has officially complained to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The green light by EU ministers comes after the European Parliament in Strasbourg on July 2 voted in favour of two directives requiring food and animal feed to be labelled if it contains at least 0.9 percent of GM ingredients.
The European Union had hoped the agreement would lead the United States to drop its complaint to the WTO, but a US official said on July 2 that Washington would not abandon the WTO complaint, saying the new EU legislation will make the issue more complicated, not less.
Consumer groups have welcomed the EU measure, saying the vast majority of ordinary people want proper labelling of GM food products.
Opinion polls suggest that European consumers are deeply suspicious of so-called "Frankenfoods". But the US government has been lobbying hard for GM products on behalf of its biotechnology food industry.
Advocates of GM foods argue that modifications to genes allowing, for example, resistance to certain pests, could greatly increase yields and alleviate global hunger.
However opponents say the technology is being pushed forwards by big corporations without sufficient knowledge as to how GM plants might affect the rest of the environment.Agence France Presse:
