The Global Food Fight

By MICHAEL D. LEMONICK

1 BRUSSELS, 1998 France, Italy, Greece, Denmark and Luxembourg team up to block introduction of all new GM products in the European Union--including those approved by E.U. scientific advisory committees and even a few developed in these five countries. Several E.U. countries have also banned the importation and use of 18 GM crops and foods approved before the blockade went into effect. New safety rules could eventually break this logjam.

2 SEATTLE, NOVEMBER 1999 Taking to the streets to protest the spread of "Frankenfoods," among other issues, demonstrators trying to disrupt the World Trade Organization summit are tear-gassed and beaten by police.

3 MIDWESTERN U.S., 1999 A coalition of agricultural groups calls for a freeze on government approval of new GM seeds in light of dwindling markets in anti-GM European countries. Planting of GM corn drops from 25 million acres (10 million hectares) in 1999 to 19.9 million acres (8 million hectares) in 2000.

4 MONTREAL, JANUARY 2000 140 nations, including Mexico, Australia and Japan, sign the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which requires an exporting country to obtain permission from an importing country before shipping GM seeds and organisms and to label such shipments with warnings that they "may contain" GM products.

5 COLOMBO, SRI LANKA, FEBRUARY 2000 The government bans GM foods pending further research

6 RIO DE JANEIRO, FEBRUARY 2000 A U.S. ship suspected of carrying GM corn is turned away by a Brazilian meat producer. The nation as a whole prohibits the importation of GM foods unless they've been proved safe; earlier this month, a federal court upheld that policy despite a statement from the Cabinet that Brazil "cannot be left out of this technology."

7 NEW DELHI, MAY 2000 The government approves large-scale field trials of Bollgard, Monsanto's pest-resistant GM cotton. Two years earlier, activists and angry farmers had burned fields planted with transgenic cotton.

8 BEIJING, JULY 2000 While still receptive to GM foods, the government passes a law requiring the labeling of GM seeds.

9 TOKYO, 2001 New rules will go into effect requiring GM foods to be labeled as such and tested for safety--although the government is also promoting the export of Japanese GM expertise and technology to Third-World nations. Meanwhile, a small anti-GM movement is growing stronger.

Canada [Somewhat in favor of GM foods]

POPULATION 31,147,000

ATTITUDE Generally pro, though consumers are wary

REASON Second biggest producer of GM products, after the U.S., and a major food exporter

Grains make up 24.8% of diet

U.S. [Somewhat in favor of GM foods]

POPULATION 278,357,000

ATTITUDE Cautiously pro

REASON As a major food exporter and home to giant agribiotech businesses, led by Monsanto, the country stands to reap huge profits from GM foods.

Grains make up 23.6% of diet

Argentina [Strongly in favor of GM foods]

POPULATION 37,031,000

ATTITUDE Pro

REASON Third largest producer of biotech crops in the world, after the U.S. and Canada

Grains make up 29.5% of diet

Brazil [Somewhat in favor of GM foods]

POPULATION 170,116,000

ATTITUDE Very cautiously pro

REASON The country is eager to participate in the potentially profitable biotech revolution but is worried about alienating anti-GM customers in Europe.

Grains make up 30.9% of diet

Britain [Opposed to GM foods]

POPULATION 58,830,000

ATTITUDE Strongly anti

REASON "Mad cow" disease in beef and a report that GM potatoes caused immune-system damage in rats have alarmed most Brits. Markets ban GM foods, and experiments are tightly controlled.

Grains make up 22.8% of diet

France [Opposed to GM foods]

POPULATION 59,079,000

ATTITUDE Strongly anti

REASON Like Britain, France has been stung by incidents with tainted food. Its attitude is colored by hostility to U.S. imports and a desire to protect French farmers.

Grains make up 24.3% of diet

India [Somewhat in favor of GM foods]

POPULATION 1,013,661,000

ATTITUDE Cautiously pro

REASON Needs to find the most efficient ways to feed and clothe its enormous, rapidly growing population.

Grains make up 62.6% of diet

China [Strongly in favor of GM foods]

POPULATION 1,277,558,000

ATTITUDE Pro

REASON Needs to feed and clothe a large population; rural hunger brought about a revolution 50 years ago, and leaders don't want another one.

Grains make up 54.7% of diet

Japan [Somewhat in favor of GM foods]

POPULATION 126,714,000

ATTITUDE Cautiously pro, but heading toward anti

REASON Japan has a national obsession with food quality, enhanced by several recent food-poisoning incidents, and a tradition of protectionism for Japanese farmers.

Grains make up 40.7% of diet

With reporting by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee and Max Rust/New York, with other bureaus