Something rather ironic is happening. Just as some US food retailers are beginning to pledge to carry non-GMO foods, grocery chains in the UK are telling their customers that they can no longer insure that chicken feed is free of GMOs. According to Supply Management, The UK grocery store chain Tesco has recently made this announcement. See article.
Europe, in general, has rejected GMO crops since 1998 but there are signs that the EU is beginning to relax its stance on this as new trade treaty negotiations between the US and the EU seek to end GMO crop restrictions throughout Europe. All the while in the US consumers are just waking up to GMOs and a strong anti-GMO movement is finding its voice. Another irony. How will it all shake out?
We do tend to lag behind Europe in fashion, culture and probably much else. I remember being in Tübingen, Germany in 1988 and seeing firsthand a comprehensive recycling program that equally baffled, intimidated and fascinated me. I barely knew what recycling meant in 1988. My friend and hostess scolded me if I tried to throw a coffee filter away. Every piece of garbage had its place and there was a lot of explaining to do if I filled up her garbage pail, which was the size of a can of Folgers, more than once per week. It was my first experience with a smelly, compost bowl. Today, I fill up a smelly, compost bowl daily.
So if Europe is a harbinger of our GMO future, even if the anti-GMO movement takes hold in the US, could it all be for naught because a decade from now everything will swing back to GMO anyway?
How much power do consumers really have over this? Sure, we can boycott products, lobby for labeling laws and vote with our pocketbook, but how realistic is that in the long run? And what do economically disadvantage folks do, the ones who can’t afford organic food? Are they going to care if food is GMO or not if labeling laws are passed?
I’m asking more questions than I’m answering. I just checked out a book from the library called Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food by Pamela C. Ronald. It was recommended to me by another blogger. Kind of weird to see the words organic and genetics in the same title. Maybe it will provide me the answers I seek. I would especially welcome comments from anyone who has read this book. ~JuleeK@Sleuth4Health
SLEUTH 4 HEALTH 
3 responses to “Two Ironies”
Hi Julie. Europe is certainly a leader in fashion and culture, places where emotion and appeal lead the charge. They have that finger on the pulse for sure.
But in technology the good ol’ USA is still pretty good. Of course, European scientists and government agencies are absolutely in favor of transgenic technologies, as are farmers in many places. One of my friends at Marche Polytechnic in Ancona, Italy serves on major boards to change the acceptance of biotech.
The problem for them is public perception. To sell European crops they need customers in the E.U. If customers (by scientific reason or fantasy) adopt one production system over another, then that is what they’ll do.
One of the saddest talks I ever saw was from a Romanian scientists that used GMO technology to stop pesticide use against the Colorado Beetle on potatoes. She thought it was a great step forward for farmers and the environment. Romanian farmers made money, they became net exporters…
Until Romania joined the EU in 2007. They had to stop transgenic technology because of fear, not reason. It radically changed use of pesticides and made the country an importer of potatoes and soy.
The Europeans got it nailed for good beer, wine, public trans, and the list goes on and on. But Jean Luc Six Pack in Bordeaux probably has it wrong on transgenic technologies. Their scientists certainly say so.
You forgot a biggy – food! Some of the best food I’ve ever had. The whole experience of eating is a big to do. You don’t just throw a meal together.
I look forward to reading the book. I want to learn. This sleuth wants the truth!