WTO Web site

Themes of the Dispute
Choice: Let Consumers Decide

"I have absolutely no anxiety. ... I am worried about a lot things, but not about modified food." — Dr. James Watson, Nobel laureate and co-discoverer of DNA structure, February 25, 1999

• The United States is not trying to “force” foods on consumers, in Europe or elsewhere. Consumer choice is a fundamental tenet of U.S. policy. The United States seeks government regulations that maximize choice while protecting consumer health and safety.
  
  
• The EU moratorium constrains choice and opportunity by denying consumers the option of purchasing foods grown through agricultural biotech methods. This illegal and unjustified ban has no scientific basis.
  
  
• The evidence suggests that, when given the choice, many consumers will purchase biotech foods. According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications, the total amount of land under cultivation with GM crops grew by 12% in 2002, continuing a half-decade of consumer-driven double-digit growth.
  
  
• The rising popularity of organic foods in the United States suggests that some consumers are willing to pay more for non-biotech foods. Yet many consumers do choose biotech foods, even when they are sold beside organic crops.