US fails to dump international GM labeling guideline

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GMW: US fails to dump international GM labeling guideline

" GM WATCH " <info

Thu, 25 May 2006 21:22:24 +0100

 

 

 

 

 

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US fails to dump international GM labeling guideline

By Julia Crosfield

This article appeared in the June issue of The Non-GMO Report,

www.non-gmoreport.com.

 

The United States tried and failed to dump an international guideline

for labeling genetically modified food at a United Nations food

standards committee held May 1 – 5 in Ottawa, Canada.

 

The labeling guideline suggests a minimum standard of GMO labeling for

countries to adopt. " Mandatory GMO labeling is essential for consumers

right to know and to track any unexpected health effects, " says Michael

Hansen, Research Associate at the Consumers Union, who represented

Consumers International at the committee.

 

Danielle Schor, from the US delegation, argues, " because there is no

consensus on the guidelines, and the fact that the guidelines have been

under consideration for many years with no consensus, the US position

was that work on this document be discontinued or suspended until such

time as an international consensus on the labeling of biotech foods

appears to be possible. " The irony is that the US is the main opponent of

biotech labeling and lead the minority camp trying to prevent a final

guideline.

 

After failing to dump the guideline, the US had nearly won a compromise

that would shelve discussions on GM labeling for three or five years.

Consumers International challenged the US position and many countries

followed. Fourteen European Community countries and 15 other nations

requested continued discussions for a labeling guideline, which left

the US

and seven supporting countries in a minority. If the US had succeeded

in dumping or shelving the guideline, it would have empowered

pro-biotech countries to challenge other countries' right to label

transgenic

products.

 

Labeling enables concerned consumers to choose non-GM products, and so

provides a market for non-GM farmers and food producers. Many American

consumers do not want GMOs, and yet there is still no mandatory

labeling of biotech products in the US to allow consumer choice.

 

While the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, South

Korea and Japan have mandatory labeling of biotech food, according to

Hansen, American consumers are unlikely to see GM products labeled

under the

current administration.

 

At the end of the five-day meeting in Ottawa, Canada, the guideline

remains in draft form, but work on it will continue until the next

meeting

in 2007. This year a group led by Norway, Argentina and Ghana will

gather information on countries' experiences with GM labeling such as:

the

kind of laws, how they are implemented, and what the labels look like.

This should help discussions to move forward. Also, the guideline,

although in draft form, still has international legal status and offers

countries with GM labeling some protection from a World Trade

Organization

suit.

 

 

 

 

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