Reuters | October 28, 1999 | Robert S. Elliott
SALVADOR, Brazil - Richard Rominger, deputy secretary for the United States Department of Agriculture, was cited as saying that biotechnology growth is an "irreversible" and "controversial" trend thanks to its cost-saving allure and promises to be a hot topic at the upcoming World Trade Organization talks in November, adding, "It has been a controversial issue in the European Union and we expect it to be an item for discussion at the WTO. Consumers around the world are concerned about the issue and we have not done a good enough job (providing) a better understanding of the technology."
He added that farmers have been drawn to genetically modified (GM) grains because of the "unprecedented opportunities to improve crops, reduce pesticide and water use, protect the environment and enhance food security worldwide," but factions, particularly in Europe, have railed against the dangers of proliferating "frankenstein foods."
"(Biotechnology) is generating some of our most complex and contentious trade challenges," said Rominger.
Anne MacKenzie, deputy director of the Canadian Agency of Food Research was quoted as saying, "We will see a growing anxiety over genetically altered foods and increasing trade tensions. Consumers will step up calls for food labeling on bio-engineered foods."
GM soy is illegal in Brazil, but that hasn't stopped farmers in the south from smuggling up to 2.5 million acres (one million hectares) worth of the seed from the United States and Argentina according to seed associations.
