Business Week | December 13, 1999 | Amy Borrus, with Lorraine Woellert
For five years, a backlash against genetically modified foods has, according to this story, raged in Europe, where gene-spliced products now must carry special labels. And millions of consumers are boycotting what British tabloids have dubbed "Frankenfood."
Yet, the story adds, even as U.S. farmers and food processors looked on in horror, they clung to the belief that it couldn't happen here.
Suddenly, they're not so sure. Consumer and environmental groups are turning up the heat on Congress and regulatory agencies to crack down on biotech foods. Food growers and processors are on the defensive and girding for a huge lobbying battle.
Kelly D. Johnston, chief lobbyist for the National Food Processors Assn., was quoted as saying, "Without question, this is the top issue our industry faces in the next 5 to 10 years."
A key flash point: legislation introduced on Nov. 16 that amends federal statutes to require food companies to disclose genetically modified ingredients on product labels. The bipartisan bill, sponsored by Representative Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio), has backing from 20 other lawmakers, including House Minority Whip David E. Bonior (D-Mich.).
The story says that more than a dozen interest groups, such as Consumers Union and Friends of the Earth, support the measure. Kucinich was quoted as saying, "This is just the beginning of a grassroots movement. Labeling is inevitable."
Those are fighting words, the story says, to the food industry, which points out that the FDA in 1992 decided that special labels on superfoods like the Flavr Savr tomato weren't needed. At a Nov. 30 meeting in Washington, however, anti-biotech forces displayed documents showing some dissension within the FDA back then. The story notes that whether an internal debate persists is unclear, but the agency in October surprised foodmakers by deciding to hold public hearings.
Now, food companies, which regard mandatory labeling as tantamount to slapping a skull and crossbones on packaging, are going on the offensive.
For starters, they're beefing up their Washington staffs with pricey lobbying talent. The story says that hired guns include former top regulators whose credentials give them credibility on Capitol Hill, such as Michael R. Taylor, Monsanto Co.'s (MTC) chief rep in Washington. Taylor is a former deputy commissioner for policy at the FDA and former top official at the Agriculture Dept. Pro-biotech forces are also relying on ex-farm state lawmakers to open doors. General Mills Inc. (GIS) has retained ex-Representative Gerry Sikorski (D-Minn.), and Kellogg Co. (K) has ex-Representative Peter Hoagland (D-Neb.).
The story also notes that industry is sending fat campaign checks to friendly lawmakers, too. In this year's first nine months, the Alliance for Better Foods, a coalition of 38 trade associations, gave more than $676,000 to lawmakers and political parties, 83% of it to Republicans, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
Johnston was further quoted as saying, "A lot of companies and associations are willing to spend millions" to defeat labeling.
The story says that the lobbying pressure may be working. When Kucinich sought co-sponsors for his labeling measure, 27 House members who previously signed a letter calling on the FDA to require labeling dropped out. One food industry source was quoted as saying a "company or constituent contacted every lawmaker to educate them" about labeling's cost.
A Sept. 23-26 Gallup poll shows Americans so far are unperturbed about biofoods. Only 27% believe genetically modified foods pose a serious health threat. But that could change as awareness grows. As the fury over Frankenfoods shows, controversy can cross the Atlantic just as easily as Roquefort and Chianti.
