Ministers try to stop GM food labels1 June 2003
The Government's controversial GM public debate, due to begin on 3 June, was undermined still further following reports that Ministers want to "kill off plans by Brussels to bring in a comprehensive regime for labelling genetically modified foods."
The report says leaked cabinet papers reveal that the Government fears "negative fallout" from Washington if they back European plans to tighten GM food labels aimed at allowing consumers to choose whether or not to eat GM food.
The Government is known to be unhappy with EU proposals to tighten the labelling of food containing ingredients from GM crops. Currently food containing an ingredient with at least one per cent of GM DNA must be labelled. The new European proposals would strengthen the legislation by reducing the GM threshold, increasing the scope of the legislation to include derivatives from GM crops (such as oils which don't contain DNA), and extending it to include animal feed. The UK Government is particularly opposed to reducing the GM threshold below 1 per cent and the labelling of derivatives.
Public opposition to GM food and crops remains high. In October 2002, an NOP survey revealed that 57 per cent did not want the Government to allow GM crops to be commercially grown across the UK. The previous month a poll for The Grocer found that 58 per cent would avoid products containing GM ingredients. And in April 2003, a MORI poll showed that 56 per cent opposed GM food, compared to a paltry one in seven (14 per cent) who support it. Furthermore, 70 per cent of the European public don't want GM food and 94 per cent want to be able to choose whether or not they eat it (Eurobarometer 2001).
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