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.
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