WASHINGTON—As
international food safety and trade talks commenced in Malaysia this week,
the United States pushed to permanently remove the issue of labeling genetically
engineered foods from the agenda and to ignore the overwhelming support of
American consumers and countries around the world for comprehensive labeling
guidelines for foods containing genetically engineered ingredients.
More than 50 member nations of the World Trade Organization are meeting this
week in Malaysia to discuss international standards for food labeling. The
33rd Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labeling was held May 9-13; this
is the 13th year that the joint food standard-setting body of the United Nations'
Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization has discussed
the labeling of genetically engineered foods.
"Polls consistently show that 70-90 percent of Americans want foods that
contain genetically engineered ingredients to be labeled," said Kerry-Ann
T. Powell staff attorney for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. "Yet,
the U.S. has been the roadblock to comprehensive international standards moving
forward."
International standards would provide guidance to countries that choose to
implement requirements to label genetically engineered foods. It would also
protect countries that have mandatory labeling from a possible U.S.-led WTO
challenge, given that the U.S. is the number one producer of genetically engineered
agriculture.
In its white paper "At
a Standstill: The United States' Role in Stalling International Efforts to
Label Genetically Engineered Foods", U.S. PIRG detailed the 12-year
battle to develop international labeling standards for foods containing genetically
engineered ingredients and called on the U.S. delegation to relieve the gridlock.
Instead, the U.S. sought to undermine 12 years of work and disregard American
consumers' support for mandatory labeling. The final outcome was to postpone
progress once again and allow a smaller working group of countries, including
the U.S., to discuss the standards and return them to the full body at the
next session.
"It's a shame that the U.S. continues to disregard American consumers
and instead prioritizes the interest of the biotechnology industry,"
said Powell. "Consumers have a right to know whether their foods contain
genetically engineered ingredients."
