Abstract

Food fight comes to America

The worst fear of U.S. government and business officials is that the commotion against genetically engineered food abroad will awaken Americans, who unknowingly already consume biotech foods being rejected in Europe. The victories of their foreign counterparts, meanwhile, are providing fresh inspiration for U.S. food activists, some of whom have struggled for decades to win media coverage, citizen attention and regulatory action. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has officially opposed biotech food labeling and mandatory safety testing since 1992. The U.S. food and biotechnology industries are now in full "crisis management" mode, their public relation experts and lobbyists working furiously to prevent the same kind of defeat suffered on foreign shores.