WTO: Hands off our food!

The US government has initiated a WTO case against the GMO policies of the European Union, demanding 1.8 bilion dollars from the EU in lost GE maize exports. Greenpeace strongly believes that all countries have a right to reject GMOs and GE food, and the WTO should have no say in this matter.

Greenpeace has joined the citzens' objection action: "Bite Back: WTO Hands Off Our Food!" together with Friends of the Earth, ActionAid, Public Services International, Public Citizen, the French Confédération Paysanne and more than 200 other organisations.

The aim of the campaign is to collect and send thousands of submissions to the World Trade Organisation, from people around the world, demanding to dismiss the challenge from the US government against the EU labelling laws.

The US is trying to use the WTO to challenge the European Union's ban on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). By bringing this complaint, the US is also trying to use the WTO to override crucial environmental agreements, like the first legally binding global agreement that allows countries to reject GMOs, the Biosafety Protocol.

All countries are entitled to refuse GMOs and to demand mandatory labelling of GMO products. Decisions concerning regulation of international trade in GMOs should be made in accordance with the UN Biosafety Protocol and not by the WTO.

The US government and agribusiness corporations may claim that GMO regulations in the EU are unfair. The fact is that the EU is the world's biggest importer of GM crops, with at least 15 million tons of Monsanto's GE soya sneaking into Europe for use in animal feed each year.

EU governments are not elected to represent narrow agribusiness interests or US farmers, who have been tricked into growing crops that nobody wants and threaten biodiversity. There is a big global demand for increased consumer information, but no demand for GE food.

The EU legislation on GMO labelling and traceability is therefore entirely justified, and is even not strong enough. It still lacks requirements for meat, dairy and eggs to be labelled if GE animal feed has been used to produce it.

The GE industry wants to tell us what to eat but not what's in our food. That won't fly in Europe. European consumers can think for themselves and will not support the risky business of releasing GMOs into the environment in order for Monsanto to maintain pesticide sales. GE soya arriving on European shores should not only be properly labelled, it should be sent straight back to the US and Argentina with a "no thanks" note stuck on it.

Find out More

- Sign up to Bite Back now

- Send an e-card and tell your friend's about what the US is trying to do

- Read our briefing on The US War on Biosafety

- Read our briefing on the Implications of the EU's New Labelling Rules

- Read our briefing on Governments Worldwide Require Labelling and Regulation of GMOs

---