Roundtable Tackles U.S.-European Deadlock On Biotech Food

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 10, 2002 -- Academics, diplomats, government officials, food industry representatives, and others will gather in Alexandria on Nov. 4 for a roundtable to search for ways to overcome U.S. European deadlock of foods manufactured with modern biotechnology.

Hosted by Virginia Tech's Center for Food and Nutrition Policy, the roundtable will examine such issues as consumer attitudes toward food safety, regulation of biotechnology in the United States and in Europe, precedents for breaking deadlocks in food regulation, and strategies for breaking the deadlock over foods made by using modern biotechnology.

The daylong roundtable will be held at the Hilton in Old Town Alexandria beginning at 8 a.m. Nov. 4. Information concerning registration is available by calling (703) 535-8230, or through the Internet at www.ceresnet.org/outreach.cfm.

"Differing attitudes about foods made by using modern biotechnology and radically different food safety mechanisms have brought Europeans and Americans to loggerheads," said Maureen Storey, interim director of the Center for Food and Nutrition Policy.

"The supply of food to the people of the world is an issue that we must address," Storey said. "Biotechnology offers us the ability to enhance the nutrient value of our foods, it helps us reduce wastage while reducing the amount of pesticides we use, and it can enhance productivity per acre."

Preventing the importation of foods developed through biotechnology has created barriers that inhibit free trade in biotech foods well beyond the European continent. The issue of world trade in biotech foods is rich in complexities stemming from scientific, economic, and political factors. Adding to the complexity are the intellectual property rights of the multi-national corporations.

"Clearly, there is a need to shed light on the issues in this debate and develop strategies to address the deadlock," Storey said. "We hope that one of the outcomes of this roundtable will be a white paper that will more clearly layout the roadblocks and offer strategies for overcoming them."

Scheduled to make presentations are David Aaron, former U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; Arpad Somogyi, director of consumer protection of the European Union; and John Lupien, former director of the Food and Nutrition Division of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization.

Also scheduled to participate are Jim Maryanski, biotechnology coordinator for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Lester Crawford, deputy commission of the FDA; David Orden, an economist with Virginia Tech; Donna Roberts, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and Tom Billy, head of CODEX Alimentarius.

Other participants are Andy Benson, of the International Food Information Council; Marsha Echols, of the Howard University School of Law; and Robert Paarlberg, a political scientist with Wellesley College.

The roundtable is one of the Ceres¨ forums sponsored by the Center for Food and Nutrition Policy. The Center is affiliated with Virginia Tech, and it is dedicated to advancing rational, science-based food and nutrition policy.