NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Europeans pass GE labelling laws, US unimpressed

2 Jul, 2003 10:53 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

11.45am

BRUSSELS - The European Parliament passed laws today to force labelling of all genetically modified food in a move that could lead the EU to lift an unofficial ban on GE crops but which may not be enough to halt a US trade suit.

The regulations will require the food
industry to segregate GE from conventional crops and put strict limits on the accidental mixing of GE into traditional food imports.

Delighted anti-GE campaigners said the new rules would keep the EU closed to GE food, as consumers would chose not to buy it.

"This new legislation paves the way for a GMO-free Europe," Geert Ritsema of green group Friends of the Earth, said.

The United States, which is taking the EU to the World Trade Organisation over the its five-year de facto ban on new GE varieties, slammed the regulations as "difficult and expensive for suppliers and confusing for consumers".

"We have made clear to the EU our concerns about the workability of these regulations and their impact on trade," a US official said, without commenting directly on what impact it would have on the WTO case.

US farmers say the closed EU market costs them US$300 million ($511.77 million) a year in lost exports, mostly maize. GE crops are not labelled in the United States where the public has not opposed crops engineered for pest resistance and increased yields.

The EU has refused to approve any new GE crops for cultivation or use in food in the 15-country bloc since 1998 when European consumer fears about food safety were at their height following the mad cow disease scandal.

A group of GE-sceptical countries, led by France said the moratorium would remain until the EU had put in place a raft of new rules on safety testing, labelling and tracing GE organisms "from farm to fork" were in place.

The new rules allow no more than 0.9 per cent accidental mixing of GE in non-GE shipments to the EU. They also let EU states impose "appropriate measures" to ensure GE crops planted in the bloc do not cross-pollinate with conventional strains.

Industry believes this will only lead to relatively minor additional national rules such as requiring minimum distances between GE and organic crops, but campaigners say it could allow GE-sceptic states like Austria to create large "GE-free" zones.

The laws could be the final piece in a regulatory jigsaw which will lead those states to start granting permits again for GE crops to be imported or grown in the EU, a procedure which has been on hold since 1998.

Groups such as Friends of the Earth fear crops genetically altered to fend off pests could cross-breed with wild relatives and create super-weeds that cannot be controlled.

They want binding EU-wide rules on GE farming methods to ensure there is no cross-pollenation and a legal regime that would make farmers or biotech seed makers financially liable for any future damage they cause to nature.

Parliament's vote needs the formal approval of European Union member governments, which diplomats said was likely to come this month.

The legislation would probably come into force in September and firms would have a six-month breathing space before having to apply the new rules.

Green MP Sue Kedgley today called on the New Zealand Government to follow the example set by the EU and introduce comprehensive labelling laws for GE food and animal stockfeed.

Ms Kedgley said the Green Parties of both New Zealand and Australia had developed private members bills calling on their respective governments to introduce EU-type labelling laws for all foods. This would be done through the trans-Tasman food standards setting body, Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

"Food Safety Minister Annette King justifies our present weak, GE labelling regime by arguing that New Zealand needs to be aligned with EU standards for GE food.

"Now that the EU has strengthened its provisions so that they apply to all GE ingredients and animal stockfeed in all food, we need to bring our rules into line with the new EU laws," Ms Kedgley said.

Ms Kedgley said the present labelling laws were a joke.

"Our labelling laws are misleading and deceptive as most consumers assume that unlabelled food does not contain any material derived from GE technology, when in fact thousands of products do contain GE ingredients because of the loopholes in the rules.

"The Europeans have listened to their consumers, who have repeatedly told them that they don't want to eat GE food. It's time for the New Zealand Government to listen to the voices of consumers who have said the same thing."

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Genetic Engineering

Related links

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill six, including five at school shelter

11 Jul 09:06 AM
World

‘Honour’ murder: Father kills daughter over TikTok account

11 Jul 07:51 AM
World

Rising tension: Drone strikes kill two in Russia, multiple injuries reported

11 Jul 06:36 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill six, including five at school shelter

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill six, including five at school shelter

11 Jul 09:06 AM

Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza received casualties after firing near an aid point.

‘Honour’ murder: Father kills daughter over TikTok account

‘Honour’ murder: Father kills daughter over TikTok account

11 Jul 07:51 AM
Rising tension: Drone strikes kill two in Russia, multiple injuries reported

Rising tension: Drone strikes kill two in Russia, multiple injuries reported

11 Jul 06:36 AM
US State Department to begin layoffs to downsize government

US State Department to begin layoffs to downsize government

11 Jul 04:40 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP