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. :(

[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.

[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.