In this month's Food Safety column , Contributing Editor Douglas Powell asks the question: Should politicians be making marketing decisions?
It's a timely question for the food industry. As Powell goes on to explain, the Canadian Wheat Board has petitioned the Canadian Government to ban genetically engineered wheat due to problems with export marketing and with segregating the crop from conventional and organic varieties. The European Union brought the issue to a head this past summer when it proposed regulations requiring all products made from engineered material to carry a label indicating they contain "genetically modified organisms." Furthermore, producers would be required to document the source of their ingredients.