EU Rules Signal Suspicion Of Genetically Altered Foods

Defying opposition from the U.S., a major food supplier for Europe, the European Union (EU) has formally approved two measures to make labeling mandatory on food containing maize (corn) and soya that has been genetically modified. Other foods could soon be included. The U.S. government has been telling EU it does not believe that foods developed through genetic engineering differ in quality or safety from traditional products. But European environmental and consumer groups -- and particularly Greenpeace -- have pushed through the new label rules. It looks as if it will take time, probably many years, to bridge the taste gap between Americans who are happy with genetically modified food, and the deeply suspicious Europeans.