Biotech lobby rejects calls for mandatory labelling of GM foods

An industry association representing Canada’s plant biotechnology sector says that efforts to make the labelling of genetically modified foods mandatory could discourage consumers from purchasing such products without a scientific basis.

Janice Tranberg, CropLife Canada’s vice-president for Western Canada, told The Hill Times that calls for mandatory labelling of genetically modified (GM) foods would be an unnecessary cost to industry and consumers.

USDA Sticks It to Monsanto and Dow—At Least Temporarily

Back in early 2012, the US Department of Agriculture seemed on the verge of approving new genetically modified crops from agrichemical giants Monsanto and Dow. The two agrichemical giants were pushing new corn and soy varieties that would respond to the ever-expanding problem of herbicide-tolerant superweeds by bringing more-toxic herbicides into the mix—and likely ramping up the resistance problem, as I explained at length in a post at the time.

The Great Food Labelling Debate

After 16 years of bitter negotiations, the world reaches agreement on the labelling of genetically modified foods.

While consumer groups around the world celebrated the July 5 United Nations Codex agreement on labelling genetically modified (GM) foods, the biotechnology industry argued that the final document achieved nothing new. In fact, industry came close to denying there was an agreement at all. After 16 years of negotiations, these two radically different responses to the final document can be explained by the high stakes involved, arguably the future of global markets for GM foods.

It is voluntary and now technically “guidance” rather than “guidelines,” but the new international agreement on labelling GM foods, two decades in the making, was bitterly fought over. The biotechnology industry, with its initial power base in the U.S. and Canada, is adamantly opposed to labelling, afraid that, given the choice, consumers around the world will reject GM foods, as seen in Europe. The stakes were so high that the U.S. government – with varying support from Canada and a handful of food exporting countries, including Argentina and Australia – continually tried to stop the Codex negotiations altogether. After two decades, however, food safety regulators from around the world finally agreed upon a few words that have huge global import.

Push to secretly approve GM corn in Pakistan leads to resignation of chief GM regulator

(NaturalNews) Attempts by biotechnology giant Monsanto to thwart the proper approval process for its GM corn in Pakistan have led to massive outcry by various stakeholders who recognize they have been deliberately ignored and betrayed by their own government. And the uproar against this high-level corruption has been so strong in recent days that Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad, head of a government subcommittee that tried to secretly aid Monsanto's efforts to push through its GM corn, recently resigned from his position.

"It's a deliberate attempt to keep these discussions and proceedings in low profile in order to avoid any outcry by the farmers and conscious citizens," said some outside sources to Pakistan's International News, concerning the committee's unethical behavior. According to Pakistan's Ministry of Food and Agriculture, officials have been meeting privately with Monsanto to discuss the mass cultivation of GM corn, instead of appropriately holding open meetings where stakeholder and other public input can be received.

"Besides holding pragmatic scientific debate, there should be extensive public debate on this important issue as it deals with what we eventually eat," added the stakeholders. Not only did the committee members in question help Monsanto try to bypass the rules for GM approval, they also allowed large-scale field trials of GM corn to occur without approval. They even tried to adopt the findings of these illegitimate trials which, of course, were compiled by Monsanto, instead of performing an independent review and petitioning for an environmental impact report.

Upon his departure, Ahmad tried to invoke pity by claiming that outsiders had unfairly hatched prejudice against his committee by accusing it of scandalous behavior. But the facts speak for themselves, illustrating what now happens all around the world when Monsanto infiltrates governments and pulls the strings of the corrupt and gullible to get its "Frankcrops" illegally approved.

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Source: Natural News