GE supporters block UN global labelling agreement

HALIFAX, CANADA, 10 May 2002 - Greenpeace today blamed the main GE producing nations, the USA, Canada and Argentina, for failure to reach a global agreement on labelling of genetically engineered (GE) food.

These three countries, which together produce 96 percent of the world’s GE crops, used their political and economic clout to block progress on labelling at the UN Codex Alimentarius (1) committee meeting today.

The move is an attempt by these countries to protect their exports of GE crops and to justify their own lack of labelling by stopping the implementation of world-wide GE labelling rules. Yet more than 35 countries around the world, representing more than half the world's population, either have, or expect to make, laws that require GE-containing foods be labelled as such.

Greenpeace GE campaigner Holly Penfound said, "The lack of a global standard for GE food labelling does not and will not stop countries from unilaterally labelling GE foods, and as more and more countries do so the US and Canada will become increasingly internationally isolated on this issue."

Attempts to force other countries to deny their own citizens information on GE foods is a tactic that the US administration has increasingly used. The Bush administration put economic and political pressure on China, Croatia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and New Zealand when they were making progress towards mandatory nationwide labelling. Even now the US is preparing to launch a trade war over European plans to label all GE food.Yet even American and Canadian citizens want labelling that will distinguish GE-containing foods.

Greenpeace opposes the release of any GE organisms into the environment. As long as they exist, Greenpeace demands clear and mandatory labelling of all food products that contain or are derived from GE organisms. The labelling system must include a reliable system to trace the possible presence of GE products throughout the whole production chain.

As it seems that the UN's Codex Alimentarius is not able to guarantee a reliable labelling system for GE food respecting the precautionary principle, Greenpeace appeals to national governments to establish such a mandatory labelling system.

Notes
(1) Codex Alimentarius Commission is an intergovernmental organisation established in 1962 by Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Health Organisation (WHO) to protect consumers' health and keep fairness of food trades through establishing international food standards. The food standards established by Codex Alimentarlius Commission would be used for harmonisation of international regulations under the WTO multilateral trade agreement. Codex Alimentarius
Commission has 165 member countries.

Image credit: (c)Greenpeace/Liberman, 2000

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