FOOD LABELLING

[Guest guest]

hello all -

 

some news below concerning food labelling that may be of interest.

links can be found at

<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/daily/daily082701.asp?source=st>

 

alicia

 

SCRAMBLED EGG LABELS

With few federal rules in place, many eco-labels and related markers

placed on food in the U.S. are meaningless or confusing, says

Consumers Union. For example, because the U.S. Agriculture

Department doesn't have standards for free-range eggs, no one checks

up on whether the chickens producing such eggs really have the run of

the farm. Another example: Consumers encountering the Nature

Conservancy logo on a box of granola bars might understandably think

the bars were produced in an environmentally friendly way. Turns out

that the logo signifies nothing more than that the conservancy has

made a pretty penny ($115,000) from General Mills.

 

LABEL-MINDED

The Bush administration is pressuring the European Union to drop new

restrictions on genetically engineered foods. Last month, the

European Commission gave preliminary approval to require labeling on

most biotech foods. Administration officials say the rules would

discriminate against U.S. products and violate World Trade

Organization requirements. They say that the rules could cost U.S.

businesses $4 billion a year. E.U. officials say the cost estimate

is exaggerated, and they want the administration to lay off with the

pressure. Compared to the U.S. public, European consumers have been

much more concerned about the safety of genetically engineered foods.

Saudia Arabia, Sri Lanka, and Mexico are also discussing tough

biotech food laws.

 

do good: Take action to label genetically engineered foods

<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/dogood/food.asp?source=daily#label>

 

read it only in Grist Magazine: Sum dum gai -- in the wake of Bonn,

Bush's isolationism takes a page from China -- satire in our opinions

section

<http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/imho/imho080601.asp?source=daily>