SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Scores of NGOs from around the country wrote the USTR to demand it not restrict efforts to label GMOs in the ongoing secret U.S.-EU trade talks. (Photo: daniel/flickr/cc)
Don't Let Trade Trump GMO Labeling
Trade rules have always been one of the biggest hammers the biotech industry has had to push genetically modified crops on the world. Nearly a decade ago, the industry, through its surrogates at the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), targeted the European Union's precautionary approach to regulating GMO crops at the World Trade Organization and won. Later, Wikileaks revealed numerous cables from U.S.
Oct 02, 2014
Trade rules have always been one of the biggest hammers the biotech industry has had to push genetically modified crops on the world. Nearly a decade ago, the industry, through its surrogates at the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), targeted the European Union's precautionary approach to regulating GMO crops at the World Trade Organization and won. Later, Wikileaks revealed numerous cables from U.S. embassies in Europe calling for plans to retaliate against countries that didn't support GMO crops.
While working on behalf of the biotech industry internationally, the U.S. government has largely ignored the growing opposition to unlabeled GMOs in the U.S. After the Obama Administration disregarded more than a million comments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calling for mandatory GMO labeling, advocacy has moved to the state level, where more than 20 US states are considering GMO labeling.
Earlier this year, Vermont was the first state to require GMO labeling without restrictions. The Grocery Manufacturers Association immediately filed a legal challenge to the law. Maine and Connecticut passed GMO labeling laws last year contingent on neighboring states also passing GMO labeling laws. In a few weeks, Colorado and Oregon will vote on ballot initiatives to label GMOs--initiatives Monsanto has poured literally millions into defeating.
But just in case they don't win at the state level, the industry has a back-up plan: Agribusiness companies have been candid that they want the new U.S.-EU trade deal, currently being negotiated, to dismantle GMO labeling policies. Such rules would affect labeling in European countries and U.S. states.
This week, 70 U.S. NGOs from around the country wrote the USTR to demand it not restrict efforts to label GMOs in the ongoing secret U.S.-EU trade talks. The groups also warned against including the very controversial corporate rights provisions (known as investor-state dispute settlement), which grant corporations the right to legally challenge, through secret tribunals, regulations like GMO labeling that could affect future profits.
The secrecy of the US-EU trade negotiations, combined with the insider power of agribusiness and biotech companies, is a potentially toxic combination. IATP will present the letter to negotiators today at a USTR stakeholder meeting and convey the letter's closing sentiment: "We will strenuously oppose any U.S.-EU deal that undermines U.S. consumers' right to know what is in the food they purchase and feed their families."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Ben Lilliston
Ben Lilliston is the Director of Rural Strategies and Climate Change at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and the co-author of the book "Genetically Engineered Foods: A Self-Defense Guide for Consumers" (2004).
Trade rules have always been one of the biggest hammers the biotech industry has had to push genetically modified crops on the world. Nearly a decade ago, the industry, through its surrogates at the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), targeted the European Union's precautionary approach to regulating GMO crops at the World Trade Organization and won. Later, Wikileaks revealed numerous cables from U.S. embassies in Europe calling for plans to retaliate against countries that didn't support GMO crops.
While working on behalf of the biotech industry internationally, the U.S. government has largely ignored the growing opposition to unlabeled GMOs in the U.S. After the Obama Administration disregarded more than a million comments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calling for mandatory GMO labeling, advocacy has moved to the state level, where more than 20 US states are considering GMO labeling.
Earlier this year, Vermont was the first state to require GMO labeling without restrictions. The Grocery Manufacturers Association immediately filed a legal challenge to the law. Maine and Connecticut passed GMO labeling laws last year contingent on neighboring states also passing GMO labeling laws. In a few weeks, Colorado and Oregon will vote on ballot initiatives to label GMOs--initiatives Monsanto has poured literally millions into defeating.
But just in case they don't win at the state level, the industry has a back-up plan: Agribusiness companies have been candid that they want the new U.S.-EU trade deal, currently being negotiated, to dismantle GMO labeling policies. Such rules would affect labeling in European countries and U.S. states.
This week, 70 U.S. NGOs from around the country wrote the USTR to demand it not restrict efforts to label GMOs in the ongoing secret U.S.-EU trade talks. The groups also warned against including the very controversial corporate rights provisions (known as investor-state dispute settlement), which grant corporations the right to legally challenge, through secret tribunals, regulations like GMO labeling that could affect future profits.
The secrecy of the US-EU trade negotiations, combined with the insider power of agribusiness and biotech companies, is a potentially toxic combination. IATP will present the letter to negotiators today at a USTR stakeholder meeting and convey the letter's closing sentiment: "We will strenuously oppose any U.S.-EU deal that undermines U.S. consumers' right to know what is in the food they purchase and feed their families."
Ben Lilliston
Ben Lilliston is the Director of Rural Strategies and Climate Change at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and the co-author of the book "Genetically Engineered Foods: A Self-Defense Guide for Consumers" (2004).
Trade rules have always been one of the biggest hammers the biotech industry has had to push genetically modified crops on the world. Nearly a decade ago, the industry, through its surrogates at the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), targeted the European Union's precautionary approach to regulating GMO crops at the World Trade Organization and won. Later, Wikileaks revealed numerous cables from U.S. embassies in Europe calling for plans to retaliate against countries that didn't support GMO crops.
While working on behalf of the biotech industry internationally, the U.S. government has largely ignored the growing opposition to unlabeled GMOs in the U.S. After the Obama Administration disregarded more than a million comments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calling for mandatory GMO labeling, advocacy has moved to the state level, where more than 20 US states are considering GMO labeling.
Earlier this year, Vermont was the first state to require GMO labeling without restrictions. The Grocery Manufacturers Association immediately filed a legal challenge to the law. Maine and Connecticut passed GMO labeling laws last year contingent on neighboring states also passing GMO labeling laws. In a few weeks, Colorado and Oregon will vote on ballot initiatives to label GMOs--initiatives Monsanto has poured literally millions into defeating.
But just in case they don't win at the state level, the industry has a back-up plan: Agribusiness companies have been candid that they want the new U.S.-EU trade deal, currently being negotiated, to dismantle GMO labeling policies. Such rules would affect labeling in European countries and U.S. states.
This week, 70 U.S. NGOs from around the country wrote the USTR to demand it not restrict efforts to label GMOs in the ongoing secret U.S.-EU trade talks. The groups also warned against including the very controversial corporate rights provisions (known as investor-state dispute settlement), which grant corporations the right to legally challenge, through secret tribunals, regulations like GMO labeling that could affect future profits.
The secrecy of the US-EU trade negotiations, combined with the insider power of agribusiness and biotech companies, is a potentially toxic combination. IATP will present the letter to negotiators today at a USTR stakeholder meeting and convey the letter's closing sentiment: "We will strenuously oppose any U.S.-EU deal that undermines U.S. consumers' right to know what is in the food they purchase and feed their families."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.