According to a new MORI poll commissioned by eco-activists, Greenpeace, in Britain, public opposition to GM food is still widespread, despite claims by the GM industry that opposition to the technology is fading. When questioned about GM foods specifically, people wanted to know what they’re eating.
76% said the labelling of all food with GM ingredients should be made compulsory. 18% in total said the benefits of GM food outweigh the risks to some degree, 39% said the risks outweigh the benefits. The remainder thought the risks and benefits were about the same (24%) or did not know (18%).
Existing EU regulations require the labelling of certain GM food products containing more than 1% of GM material. The EU now proposes to extend the labelling scheme to include animal feed and all products containing and derived from GM ingredients, such as oil from GM soya beans.
Countries including China, Croatia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and New Zealand have sought to implement restrictions on GM imports or introduce compulsory labelling. In each case, says Greenpeace, they backed down after the US threatened action at the WTO. Now the Bush administration is employing a similar tactic against the EU. In February this year US trade representative Robert Zoellick told the House of Representatives that the EU stance was “totally unacceptable… I’m strongly considering bringing a WTO action.” He added, “I want to put a real focus on this year.”
In slightly more muted tones in March this year, Peter Kurz, trade official at the US embassy in London, told a House of Lords Select Committee that his government would be making it clear to the WTO that the EU proposals are “not workable and could unduly impair trade.”
Greenpeace campaigner Charlie Kronick comments: “George Bush is determined to help America’s GM industry dominate Europe’s food supply, but UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair is better placed than anybody to stop him. He should stand up to Bush and protect the rights of British consumers and our environment.”
Greenpeace has written to Tony Blair asking him to set out the position of the UK Government on this issue and urging him to stand up to Bush. To date no reply has been received.
WWW.GREENPEACE.ORG.UK

Comments
Post new comment