International Herald Tribune
As for modified foods, Europeans just say 'no'
�Lizette Alvarez/NYT The New York Times
Tuesday, February 11, 2003
'It's not the natural order of things'
�TOTNES, England At the Happy Apple green grocer in this Elizabethan town in England's west country, the Roasted Vegetable Pasty is labeled, clearly and proudly, as G.M.-free. So is the Hommity Pie and a scattering of other products crammed onto shelves.
.
In fact, all across Britain and most of the rest of Europe, shoppers would be hard-pressed to find any genetically modified, or "G.M.," products on grocery store shelves, and that is precisely how most people want it.
.
Tinkering with the genetic makeup of crops to make them grow faster and more resilient, something done routinely in the United States with seldom a pang of consumer concern, is seen here as heretical, or at the very least unhealthy. In some countries, there is an unofficial moratorium on the sale of genetically modified foods.
.
"It's not the natural order of things, that's all," said Heather Baddeley, who was picking up lettuce and avocados at the Happy Apple, about genetically modified foods. "It's a kind of corruption, not the right thing to do, you know?"
.
Robert B. Zoellick, the United States trade representative, does not agree. He recently called Europe's stance on genetically modified food "Luddite" and "immoral," mainly because he said Europeans' fears about genetically modified foods have convinced some famine-ridden countries in Africa to reject genetically altered grains. Some Europeans believed Mr. Zoellick was, in effect, blaming Europe for starvation in Africa.
.
"The U.S. government, including Republican leaders in Congress, accuse Europe of using the issue of genetically modified food as a way of keeping out American exports," said David Byrne, who heads the European Union commission on consumer protection and health. "What Bob Zoellick said over the last few weeks has been unhelpful, clearly. It was unfair. It was wrong."
.
The European Union finances nongovernmental organizations but it is those groups themselves, and not the European trading bloc, that have moved in some cases to steer Africans clear of genetically altered grains, Mr. Byrne insisted.
.
"The E.U.'s position on genetically modified food," he added, "is that it is as safe as conventional food."
.
That is the official line at European Union headquarters in Brussels. But public sentiment in much of Europe, successfully stoked by environmental groups, is now so fiercely opposed to genetically altered food that in Austria, for example, politicians have won elections by vowing to keep "Frankenfood" at bay.
.
Many supermarket chains across France, Britain, Italy and Austria, among others, yanked all genetically modified products from their shelves three years ago and are in no hurry to restock. Most recently, hundreds of Europe's most respected chefs banded together to form a group called Euro-Toques to battle the biotechnology lobby.
.
American companies like Monsanto stand to make enormous profits if Europe allows the import of more genetically modified foods. A decision by the European Parliament on stricter labeling for genetically modified foods could be made as early as summer, and European officials hope that this may make the food more acceptable by clarifying exactly how it is made. But there is concern in the United States that the labeling will only alarm European consumers more.
.
The stricter labeling requirements would trace genetically altered substances in maize, tomatoes, feed and oils and make it clear to consumers which products contain at least 0.9 percent of a genetically modified substance.
.
In France and Italy, Europe's two food meccas, public revulsion with genetically modified food runs especially deep. "U.S. culture is different from European culture," said Lorenzo Consoli, a Greenpeace expert on genetic engineering. "Here, there is a very strong feeling that links culture and food. And here, there is much more the idea that science is not church or a religion. It is not enough anymore for European consumers to have somebody with a white coat, a professional, say it's O.K."
.
A string of food scandals, including the outbreak of mad cow disease in 1996, severely undermined people's faith in the safety of their food and their confidence in scientists and public officials, many of whom claimed consumers faced no health risk at the time. Other scandals - HIV tainted blood in France, the spread of mad cow disease to other European nations, dioxin infested chickens in Belgium - only added to this mistrust.
.
Although there is no compelling evidence that genetically altered food is harmful, the food's opponents say that it is unknown whether the food is harmful in the long term. The uncertainty is precisely what worries Europeans.
.
Europeans also tend to be more environmentally sensitive than some Americans, and environmental groups, like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, carry much greater sway. One widespread fear is that genetically altered crops will pollinate and infest neighboring crops, a consequence many see as irreversible. Environmental groups have turned this concern into a successful campaign against genetically modified food.
.
Europeans also care more about how food tastes, as opposed to how long it can sit on a shelf. "For some member states, it's nearly synonymous with sovereignty," said Mr. Byrne, referring to the quality of food.
.
The fight against genetically modified food is being led by organization like Greenpeace, which is rooting for a legal confrontation over the issue at the World Trade Organization.
.
Pia Ahrenkild Hansen, the spokeswoman for the European Union commissioner on the environment, said the industry had done a poor job marketing the advantages of genetically modified foods in Europe. "The industry has been incredibly bad about demonstrating what's the benefit," Ms. Hansen said. "Why it would make food production more sustainable, why it would require less resources. Those arguments are not know by the consumers. People say, 'Why should we buy it?'"
.
Certainly, in this speck of a town in the county of Devon, it is almost impossible to find any supporters of genetically modified foods. Three weeks ago, the Devon County Council executive board endorsed a decision to bar its schools and hospitals from using any genetically altered food.
.
Angry citizens held marches, set up booths and attended meetings on the issue. Residents here were especially incensed when Britain began a set of trials of genetically modified foods on farms, one that is near here. One district councilor, Anne Ward, is petitioning the South Ham district here to declare itself a "G.M.-free zone." Ms. Baddeley, and many other shoppers at the Happy Apple, would favor this without a second thought, they said.
'It's not the natural order of things'
�TOTNES, England At the Happy Apple green grocer in this Elizabethan town in England's west country, the Roasted Vegetable Pasty is labeled, clearly and proudly, as G.M.-free. So is the Hommity Pie and a scattering of other products crammed onto shelves.
.
In fact, all across Britain and most of the rest of Europe, shoppers would be hard-pressed to find any genetically modified, or "G.M.," products on grocery store shelves, and that is precisely how most people want it.
.
Tinkering with the genetic makeup of crops to make them grow faster and more resilient, something done routinely in the United States with seldom a pang of consumer concern, is seen here as heretical, or at the very least unhealthy. In some countries, there is an unofficial moratorium on the sale of genetically modified foods.
.
"It's not the natural order of things, that's all," said Heather Baddeley, who was picking up lettuce and avocados at the Happy Apple, about genetically modified foods. "It's a kind of corruption, not the right thing to do, you know?"
.
Robert B. Zoellick, the United States trade representative, does not agree. He recently called Europe's stance on genetically modified food "Luddite" and "immoral," mainly because he said Europeans' fears about genetically modified foods have convinced some famine-ridden countries in Africa to reject genetically altered grains. Some Europeans believed Mr. Zoellick was, in effect, blaming Europe for starvation in Africa.
.
"The U.S. government, including Republican leaders in Congress, accuse Europe of using the issue of genetically modified food as a way of keeping out American exports," said David Byrne, who heads the European Union commission on consumer protection and health. "What Bob Zoellick said over the last few weeks has been unhelpful, clearly. It was unfair. It was wrong."
.
The European Union finances nongovernmental organizations but it is those groups themselves, and not the European trading bloc, that have moved in some cases to steer Africans clear of genetically altered grains, Mr. Byrne insisted.
.
"The E.U.'s position on genetically modified food," he added, "is that it is as safe as conventional food."
.
That is the official line at European Union headquarters in Brussels. But public sentiment in much of Europe, successfully stoked by environmental groups, is now so fiercely opposed to genetically altered food that in Austria, for example, politicians have won elections by vowing to keep "Frankenfood" at bay.
.
Many supermarket chains across France, Britain, Italy and Austria, among others, yanked all genetically modified products from their shelves three years ago and are in no hurry to restock. Most recently, hundreds of Europe's most respected chefs banded together to form a group called Euro-Toques to battle the biotechnology lobby.
.
American companies like Monsanto stand to make enormous profits if Europe allows the import of more genetically modified foods. A decision by the European Parliament on stricter labeling for genetically modified foods could be made as early as summer, and European officials hope that this may make the food more acceptable by clarifying exactly how it is made. But there is concern in the United States that the labeling will only alarm European consumers more.
.
The stricter labeling requirements would trace genetically altered substances in maize, tomatoes, feed and oils and make it clear to consumers which products contain at least 0.9 percent of a genetically modified substance.
.
In France and Italy, Europe's two food meccas, public revulsion with genetically modified food runs especially deep. "U.S. culture is different from European culture," said Lorenzo Consoli, a Greenpeace expert on genetic engineering. "Here, there is a very strong feeling that links culture and food. And here, there is much more the idea that science is not church or a religion. It is not enough anymore for European consumers to have somebody with a white coat, a professional, say it's O.K."
.
A string of food scandals, including the outbreak of mad cow disease in 1996, severely undermined people's faith in the safety of their food and their confidence in scientists and public officials, many of whom claimed consumers faced no health risk at the time. Other scandals - HIV tainted blood in France, the spread of mad cow disease to other European nations, dioxin infested chickens in Belgium - only added to this mistrust.
.
Although there is no compelling evidence that genetically altered food is harmful, the food's opponents say that it is unknown whether the food is harmful in the long term. The uncertainty is precisely what worries Europeans.
.
Europeans also tend to be more environmentally sensitive than some Americans, and environmental groups, like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, carry much greater sway. One widespread fear is that genetically altered crops will pollinate and infest neighboring crops, a consequence many see as irreversible. Environmental groups have turned this concern into a successful campaign against genetically modified food.
.
Europeans also care more about how food tastes, as opposed to how long it can sit on a shelf. "For some member states, it's nearly synonymous with sovereignty," said Mr. Byrne, referring to the quality of food.
.
The fight against genetically modified food is being led by organization like Greenpeace, which is rooting for a legal confrontation over the issue at the World Trade Organization.
.
Pia Ahrenkild Hansen, the spokeswoman for the European Union commissioner on the environment, said the industry had done a poor job marketing the advantages of genetically modified foods in Europe. "The industry has been incredibly bad about demonstrating what's the benefit," Ms. Hansen said. "Why it would make food production more sustainable, why it would require less resources. Those arguments are not know by the consumers. People say, 'Why should we buy it?'"
.
Certainly, in this speck of a town in the county of Devon, it is almost impossible to find any supporters of genetically modified foods. Three weeks ago, the Devon County Council executive board endorsed a decision to bar its schools and hospitals from using any genetically altered food.
.
Angry citizens held marches, set up booths and attended meetings on the issue. Residents here were especially incensed when Britain began a set of trials of genetically modified foods on farms, one that is near here. One district councilor, Anne Ward, is petitioning the South Ham district here to declare itself a "G.M.-free zone." Ms. Baddeley, and many other shoppers at the Happy Apple, would favor this without a second thought, they said.
'It's not the natural order of things'
�TOTNES, England At the Happy Apple green grocer in this Elizabethan town in England's west country, the Roasted Vegetable Pasty is labeled, clearly and proudly, as G.M.-free. So is the Hommity Pie and a scattering of other products crammed onto shelves.
.
In fact, all across Britain and most of the rest of Europe, shoppers would be hard-pressed to find any genetically modified, or "G.M.," products on grocery store shelves, and that is precisely how most people want it.
.
Tinkering with the genetic makeup of crops to make them grow faster and more resilient, something done routinely in the United States with seldom a pang of consumer concern, is seen here as heretical, or at the very least unhealthy. In some countries, there is an unofficial moratorium on the sale of genetically modified foods.
.
"It's not the natural order of things, that's all," said Heather Baddeley, who was picking up lettuce and avocados at the Happy Apple, about genetically modified foods. "It's a kind of corruption, not the right thing to do, you know?"
.
Robert B. Zoellick, the United States trade representative, does not agree. He recently called Europe's stance on genetically modified food "Luddite" and "immoral," mainly because he said Europeans' fears about genetically modified foods have convinced some famine-ridden countries in Africa to reject genetically altered grains. Some Europeans believed Mr. Zoellick was, in effect, blaming Europe for starvation in Africa.
.
"The U.S. government, including Republican leaders in Congress, accuse Europe of using the issue of genetically modified food as a way of keeping out American exports," said David Byrne, who heads the European Union commission on consumer protection and health. "What Bob Zoellick said over the last few weeks has been unhelpful, clearly. It was unfair. It was wrong."
.
The European Union finances nongovernmental organizations but it is those groups themselves, and not the European trading bloc, that have moved in some cases to steer Africans clear of genetically altered grains, Mr. Byrne insisted.
.
"The E.U.'s position on genetically modified food," he added, "is that it is as safe as conventional food."
.
That is the official line at European Union headquarters in Brussels. But public sentiment in much of Europe, successfully stoked by environmental groups, is now so fiercely opposed to genetically altered food that in Austria, for example, politicians have won elections by vowing to keep "Frankenfood" at bay.
.
Many supermarket chains across France, Britain, Italy and Austria, among others, yanked all genetically modified products from their shelves three years ago and are in no hurry to restock. Most recently, hundreds of Europe's most respected chefs banded together to form a group called Euro-Toques to battle the biotechnology lobby.
.
American companies like Monsanto stand to make enormous profits if Europe allows the import of more genetically modified foods. A decision by the European Parliament on stricter labeling for genetically modified foods could be made as early as summer, and European officials hope that this may make the food more acceptable by clarifying exactly how it is made. But there is concern in the United States that the labeling will only alarm European consumers more.
.
The stricter labeling requirements would trace genetically altered substances in maize, tomatoes, feed and oils and make it clear to consumers which products contain at least 0.9 percent of a genetically modified substance.
.
In France and Italy, Europe's two food meccas, public revulsion with genetically modified food runs especially deep. "U.S. culture is different from European culture," said Lorenzo Consoli, a Greenpeace expert on genetic engineering. "Here, there is a very strong feeling that links culture and food. And here, there is much more the idea that science is not church or a religion. It is not enough anymore for European consumers to have somebody with a white coat, a professional, say it's O.K."
.
A string of food scandals, including the outbreak of mad cow disease in 1996, severely undermined people's faith in the safety of their food and their confidence in scientists and public officials, many of whom claimed consumers faced no health risk at the time. Other scandals - HIV tainted blood in France, the spread of mad cow disease to other European nations, dioxin infested chickens in Belgium - only added to this mistrust.
.
Although there is no compelling evidence that genetically altered food is harmful, the food's opponents say that it is unknown whether the food is harmful in the long term. The uncertainty is precisely what worries Europeans.
.
Europeans also tend to be more environmentally sensitive than some Americans, and environmental groups, like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, carry much greater sway. One widespread fear is that genetically altered crops will pollinate and infest neighboring crops, a consequence many see as irreversible. Environmental groups have turned this concern into a successful campaign against genetically modified food.
.
Europeans also care more about how food tastes, as opposed to how long it can sit on a shelf. "For some member states, it's nearly synonymous with sovereignty," said Mr. Byrne, referring to the quality of food.
.
The fight against genetically modified food is being led by organization like Greenpeace, which is rooting for a legal confrontation over the issue at the World Trade Organization.
.
Pia Ahrenkild Hansen, the spokeswoman for the European Union commissioner on the environment, said the industry had done a poor job marketing the advantages of genetically modified foods in Europe. "The industry has been incredibly bad about demonstrating what's the benefit," Ms. Hansen said. "Why it would make food production more sustainable, why it would require less resources. Those arguments are not know by the consumers. People say, 'Why should we buy it?'"
.
Certainly, in this speck of a town in the county of Devon, it is almost impossible to find any supporters of genetically modified foods. Three weeks ago, the Devon County Council executive board endorsed a decision to bar its schools and hospitals from using any genetically altered food.
.
Angry citizens held marches, set up booths and attended meetings on the issue. Residents here were especially incensed when Britain began a set of trials of genetically modified foods on farms, one that is near here. One district councilor, Anne Ward, is petitioning the South Ham district here to declare itself a "G.M.-free zone." Ms. Baddeley, and many other shoppers at the Happy Apple, would favor this without a second thought, they said.
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