06/15/06 Fighting Over biotech

It's not the riots in France, or even the war in Iraq that has Europe in a constant turmoil. It is food. With much of the continent facing life immediate threatening conditions like Iran's nuclear weapons for example, it seems pretty petty that genetically engineered food is creating such dissension in at least five countries in conflict with the European Union's position on GMO products. Greeks for one, adamantly oppose genetically modified crops. The fact that the bulk of the few remaining countries in the world that ban GMO crops happen to be in Europe and that most of the world has been consuming GMO for many years without any ill effects or that US alone now grows 220 million acres of the stuff translates to massive trade hurdles in a global economy not only with food products but seeds, crops and even innovation.. The European Union is putting pressure on theses last hold outs to except biotech as the wave of the future. When it comes to the Greeks and food, tradition seems to be winning.