Calling all WTO experts

[andrewducker]

According to today's Guardian the  WTO has said that European countries can't ban GM foods.

What I'm wondering is - does this stop them from demanding that GM foods be labelled, so that people can make their own choices about whether they want to eat them or not?

Comments

[alcippe.livejournal.com]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. It really bothers me how governments are trying to basically force people to eat GM foods. :(

[andrewducker]

Well that's what I'm trying to find out.

If they're saying that GM foods can't be banned, then I'm fine with that.

If they're saying that we aren't personally allowed to make the choice, then I'm against it.

[missedith01.livejournal.com]

The point with GM is that someone else's freedom to have them is eventually going to render my freedom to avoid them meaningless.

[andrewducker]

Can you explain why? We already have clearly marked types of foods which are produced in certain ways - why wouldn't this trend continue?

[allorin.livejournal.com]

Because of what I originally came into this thread to post - if you have GM crops in one field, eventually you'll have GM crops in the other fields. Cross-pollination etc. Unless all GM crops are developed in GM bio-domes! ;+)

But yeah, basically that. There's huge concerns over GM rapeseed contaminating other crops, and there's no real way to avoid it without spending a fortune, and building some bloody high walls.

There's also the more basic issue with it - basically, we should have learned by now that we're fucking with nature too much, but we haven't. It's all just greed greed greed. There's no reason for GM crops - we've managed for eons without 'em. We're not going to be content until we've screwed the world up so much it has no choice but to screw us back.

Sorry - clearly I haven't had enough sleep last night...

[andrewducker]

I can see your first point - separating out the growth of GM foods and non-GM ones does sound fairly impossible. I was thinking of imports of GM foods, not their growing.

basically, we should have learned by now that we're fucking with nature too much

Well, as I disagree vastly with that statement, and am looking forward to more tampering in the future I suspect we'll have to agree to disagree. For instance, specially bred wheat (produced using radioactive isotopes to cause uncontrolled mutation) has meant that India produces 70 million tonnes of wheat rather than 12, which is the only reason they aren't starving to death. The GM strains being worked on which can grow in much saltier soil would help many African countries with their famine problems too.

[missedith01.livejournal.com]

Lots of reasons, but for example, last time I checked the EU was being lobbied to define "organic" as containing up to 0.9% GM *without* this information having to appear on the label.

[andrewducker]

Now _that_ I'd be against.

[missedith01.livejournal.com]

With no attempt at hyperbole, I do believe that the evils created by agrobusiness run deep and wide.

[octopoid-horror.livejournal.com]

These things are rarely done in an even-handed way.

Now that companies are encouraged to label foods with how much salt they contain, a lot of over-salted products use wording that suggests the amount above which you're eating too much is a reccomended daily allowance in the same way that it is for vitamins, letting people assume that's a healthy amount.. as opposed to an upper limit.

[andrewducker]

Not only that - they're labelling it as "Sodium" rather than "Salt", which makes it look like less...

[laserboy.livejournal.com]

The only way to stop that kind of unethical activity is to complain loudly to the right people. Consumer groups, advertising standards etc etc etc.

[balthial.livejournal.com]

From what I understand, it shouldn't prevent labeling.

Personally, hurray! The anti-GMO thing has always struck me as nonsense. The the fruitfly gene in my cornbread is not even close to the most unnatural thing about the modern lifestyle.

[sigmonster.livejournal.com]

The judgement refers to a previous trade regime. The current regime has not been challenged, and does provide for labelling - the EU spokesman made this point in the news on Thursday or Friday. (The WTO case applied only to maize imports, iirc. There are about 30 GM crops which have been approved at the EU level, but may still be prohibited instance-by-instance at the country or regional level (a blanket ban would no longer be sustainable).) Information from Guardian reporting over the last few days and some general background from all over the place...

Me, I think that gene transfer between plants is so much easier than between vertebrates that you shouldn't stick any protein or trait in a plant that you cannot cope with having in the wild, and I also think the main issues are land management and agricultural inputs (fertilisers and pesticides) - I quite enjoy skylarks and bulrushes and corn poppies and siskins, and I'm prepared to pay a premium on my food in order to ensure they continue to exist (particularly since the relative cost of food has declined for many years). GM is just a toolset, not an issue in itself. And I strongly support labelling.

[andrewducker]

Cheers - very informative.