OTTAWA -- The Canadian government is teaming with U.S. President George W. Bush's administration to challenge at the World Trade Organization what they call a de facto European Union ban on imports of genetically modified foods.
But the European Union and environmentalists say Canadian and U.S. efforts to force European markets open are futile because consumers on that continent largely oppose genetically modified (GM) foods and won't buy them.
A December, 2001, poll of Europeans on GM foods conducted by the EU commission found that nearly 71 per cent of respondents said they "were inclined to agree" with the statement that "I do not want this type of food."
The United States and Canada say the moratorium -- which amounts to a refusal to approve the import and sale of new GM organisms -- is baseless and has damaged trade to the EU.
"Over the past several years, this moratorium has been directly responsible for Canada's loss of market access for canola in the European Union," Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief said.
"Since the ban was introduced in 1998, what was once an average $185-million a year in trade [of canola] has now dwindled to a mere $1.5-million."
Argentina, a major GM food producer along with Canada and the United States, also has joined the WTO challenge, as has Egypt, which argues that no major scientific risks have been identified so far in modified foodstuffs.
A group of EU countries, including France, has placed a moratorium on approving GM food imports, effectively halting the trade until EU-wide laws are in place on labelling such foods.
EU ministers have approved new legislative measures, which must now be approved by the European Parliament. Debate on the labelling law is expected in July.
Canadian environmentalists chided Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew for taking aim at European efforts to keep out GM foods when Canada has failed to put in place labelling standards of its own.
Canada has instead left it to a business-driven effort that so far has failed to yield results in three years.
Ken Bee, president of the Grain Growers of Canada, cheered Ottawa's trade challenge, saying: "We cannot allow our marketing opportunities to be taken away at the whim of foreign governments."
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. NoNonsense English offers this material non-commercially for research and educational purposes. I believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, i.e. the media service or newspaper which first published the article online and which is indicated at the top of the article unless otherwise specified.