World Wire
Convention exposes rift over genetically altered foods
Tuesday, May 9, 2000

By George Gunset, Chicago Tribune

http://www.enn.com/news/wire-stories/2000/05/05092000/krt_biofood_12797.asp

[Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only]

Tucked behind the big Nabisco exhibit at this year's Food Marketing Institute convention in Chicago is a small, sedate booth where the product is policy. Visitors receive position papers, not cookies or beer or beef.

The message is simple: Biotechnology's benefits can help provide more nutritious foods. But that topic does not resonate as easily with consumers, said Therese St. Peter, who works for Zeneca Ag Products.

"I don't begrudge the organic growers their position, but consumers should be offered a choice," she said. "The story has often been one-sided up to now, and that's one reason our companies have joined to promote this education program."

Earlier this year, Zeneca and six other leading biotech companies formed the Council for Biotechnology Information. St. Peter said the companies have budgeted $50 million for council activities, including a television and print advertising campaign that kicked off in early April with the tagline "good ideas are growing."

"That may sound like a lot of money, but that's about what it would cost to launch a new candy bar," she said.

A few aisles over, but worlds away in viewpoint, Roy R. Moore Jr. said while there may be benefits from biotechnology, "so many effects are unknown and that is what scares people."

Moore, from Denver, is chief executive of the family-owned Maverick Ranch. Maverick raises cattle and processes and sells natural beef. He said his products typically sell at prices 20 percent to 30 percent higher than the conventional meat. Maverick also has begun selling certified organic beef to selected supermarkets and food service distributors.

"We make sure there is no genetically modified grain in our cattle feed," Moore said.

Some 35,000 people are expected to attend the FMI exposition at McCormick Place, which runs through today. With 1,500 exhibits, the convention is one of the largest grocery trade events in the world. Among the feature exhibits is a technology-driven store of the future and a "whole health pavilion" showcasing organic and natural food and related products.

The issue of genetically modified crops is reverberating throughout the Midwest and nation. Last week, the federal government said it would require seed companies to provide more data about the safety of new gene-spliced crops.

Up to now, companies had been voluntarily providing the information.

Some advocacy groups would like to see more. They fear that some pest-resistant crops will lead to highly resilient pests or weeds that could threaten all crops.

Biotechnology supporters often say that the opponents use scare tactics and do not subject their assertions to scientific investigation.

The public appears to have little awareness of biotechnology and food issues, although this may be changing.

Tim Hammonds, president of the FMI, said biotech issues "have yet to gain traction with our customers. They are much more concerned with nutrition and use of pesticides."

A survey of 2,000 consumers this year by the FMI indicated that 37 percent of grocery shoppers had heard nothing at all about biotechnology. And only 9 percent said they had heard a lot about it.

"Consumers appear to be more interested in the benefits of technology that make crops more insect-resistant so that pesticides can be reduced than they are in the benefits to provide better taste," the FMI said. "However, in either case, more than half of consumers say they would be likely to purchase a product that had been modified by biotechnology."

Still, the percentage declined to 63 percent in 2000 from 77 percent in a survey taken in 1996.

On the other hand, a survey of 110 "food industry leaders" by Thomas J. Hoban, a sociologist at North Carolina State University, found that 95 percent felt no need to delay use of biotech until more is known about potential risks, and 73 percent believe that "most consumers will buy foods produced with biotechnology that are more nutritious."

For the U.S., Hoban said, "criteria for most consumers' food selection should remain taste, value, nutrition, and convenience  not seed genetics."

Copyright 2000, Chicago Tribune
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2000