In Reply to: Soya has-beans (a fairy tale) posted by Stephen Psallidas on December 03, 1996 at 14:18:34:
> ... the farmers weren't sure that their customers would
> appreciate the full advantages of eating genetically engineered
> food, so they and the US regulatory authorities ignored one of
> the main free-market axioms ('choice'), and cleverly decided
> to mix them all in with normal soya beans so that it would be
> very difficult to tell which were which. This meant that the
> farmers' customers didn't have to trouble themselves deciding
> whether to eat the genetically manipulated soya or not, and
> everyone lived happily ever after.....First ship certified free of gene soya in Antwerp
BRUSSELS, Dec 5 (Reuter) - The first ship carrying U.S. soybeans
guaranteed to be genetically unmodified arrived in the Belgian port of
Antwerp on Thursday, the Austrian environmental group Global 2000 said.
The Steel Flower, carrying 8,500 tonnes of soybeans, will be followed by
two more similar shipments later this month of 18,000 and 25,000 tonnes,
it added.
The Antwerp Port Authority confirmed the ship's arrival.
"This proves that it is possible to keep production lines separate from
Monsanto's GMO (genetically modified) soybeans," Vienna-based Global
2000 said in a statement.
Environmental groups have protested against an EU decision in March to
allow imports of Monsanto Co's"Round-up Ready" soybeans,
genetically changed to resist herbicides.
They have demanded that GMO soybeans be clearly labelled and separated
from traditional soybeans.
The extra cost of separating the soybeans and providing a guarantee is
only around three percent, said Daniel Hausknost of Global 2000.
"Processors are prepared to pay a premium," he told Reuters by telephone
from Antwerp, adding there was strong demand in countries such as
Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Sweden.
U.S. officials and Monsanto have said that it was impractical to
separate the soybeans because of the huge tonnages involved and
unnecessary because the product was safe.
--Peter Blackburn, Brussels newsroom +322 287 6830
None.