首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
考研
Companies are lobbying hard to remove the EU’s traceability and labeling policies for products containing GM ingredients. Br
Companies are lobbying hard to remove the EU’s traceability and labeling policies for products containing GM ingredients. Br
admin
2014-12-11
65
问题
Companies are lobbying hard to remove the EU’s traceability and labeling policies for products containing GM ingredients.
Britain and other European Union member states are under increasing pressure from North American business groups to open their borders to imports of genetically modified food as part of negotiations for a new Transatlantic trade deal, environmental campaigners have warned.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership(TTIP)is being negotiated among European governments, the US and Canada, with the active participation of dozens of large businesses. It has already attracted strong criticism from democracy campaigners, who say it could mean the UK could have to open the National Health Service further to private companies, and complaints against large companies could be treated in secret without proper legal recourse.
The potential impacts on food safety are less apparent as the negotiations are being conducted without public consultation. Progress on signing the partnership is expected to be hastened later this year when new EU commissioners are appointed.
The European commission has strongly denied that the partnership would allow North American companies to circumvent EU food standards, particularly with regard to genetic modification. A spokesman for the commission told the Guardian: " TTIP will not change the way we regulate GMOs[genetically modified organisms]in Europe. EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht stressed that publically many times. The EU has its red lines in the negotiations and the GMOs is one of them. "
However, documents from various US and Canadian government agencies and business trade bodies suggest strong pressure is being brought to bear from US industries to allow GM products and other foods into EU markets that would violate the EU’s current standards, in the name of free trade. The US Department of Agriculture and Foreign Agricultural Service has explicitly identified " the EU’s non-tariff barriers to US agricultural products" , specifying in particular "long delays in reviews of biotech products[that]create barriers to US exports of grain and oil seed products". The term biotech is generally used to refer to GM products.
Lobbying from north American businesses has been intense. The North American Export Grain Association and National Grain and Feed Association have both called for the " reduction and elimination of measures related to crop biotechnology that currently restrict or prevent trade in grains, oilseeds and their derived food and feed products". The American Soybean Association has also weighed in, saying: "TTIP must address the key EU biotech politics that are discriminating against US exports. " This includes removing the EU’s traceability and labeling policies for products containing biotech ingredients, under which they must be clearly labeled, in favor of a looser policy of labeling some foods "GMO-free" , even if this cannot be guaranteed to the same level as current standards require. " Inclusion of biotech ingredients should not be stigmatized with a label," the organization said.
Mute Schimpf, food campaigner at Friends of the Earth in Brussels, told the Guardian that the EU had shown itself too willing to give in to such lobbying, despite protestations to the contrary, because in a new deal with Canada—outside of the TTIP but related to it—the two have agreed to have a " shared objective" of minimizing the disruption to trade from their different GM rules. "Politicians have been trying to reassure citizens that public safeguards will not be traded away behind closed doors in free-trade deals with the US and Canada. It is therefore deeply alarming that evidence now emerging from a pact with Canada shows that Europe has willingly made an agreement that undermines its own safety regime for genetically modified foods. Citizens must demand that protecting public safety and the environment come before the profits of big business. Europe’s safety-first policies are a fundamental cornerstone and must not be traded away to please industry. "
The European commission says that the EU would not be forced to allow imports of GM foods under the TTIP deal. "Will the EU be forced to change its laws on GMOs? No, it will not. Basic laws, like those relating to GMOs or which are there to protect human life and health, animal health and welfare, or environment and consumer interests will not be part of the negotiations," according to a Q&A on the EU’s website.
Which is the EU’s reaction to the lobbying from both America and Canada?
选项
A、It shows a strong tendency to conform to the intense lobbying.
B、It completely ignores the lobbying and sticks to its former polices.
C、It reduces and eliminates measures related to crop biotechnology.
D、It is hoped that GM products problems will be examined at the negotiations.
答案
A
解析
文章重点探讨了美国的游说,而题目中出现的“加拿大”一词,为我们寻找答案提供了很好的线索。因此关注对加拿大的论述,就可以较轻松地捕捉到答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/gYK4777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
Researchonanimalintelligencealwaysmakesmewonderjusthowsmarthumansare.【C1】______thefruit-flyexperimentsdescribedi
Researchonanimalintelligencealwaysmakesmewonderjusthowsmarthumansare.【C1】______thefruit-flyexperimentsdescribedi
Manytheoriesconcerningthecausesofjuveniledelinquency(crimescommittedbyyoungpeople)focuseitherontheindividualor
IntheUnitedStates,thefirstdaynurserywasopenedin1854.Nurserieswereestablishedinvariousareasduringthe【C1】______
FinancialTurmoilintheWorldCausesaSocialHazardDespiteadropinmetropolitanWashington’sjoblessrate,regionaleco
Companieshaveembarkedonwhatlookslikethebeginningsofare-runofthemergersandacquisitions(M&A)wavethatdefinedth
HealthySocialNetworkingSitesBenefitKidsTheotherdayIaskedsomewhattongue-in-cheek(幽默讽刺的)whetherTomFriedmanhad
AmericanIllegalImmigrantNumberDescendsIllegalimmigration,whichhassparkedpoliticalandsocialdisorderincommuniti
Inthefollowingtext,somesentenceshavebeenremoved.ForQuestions41-45,choosethemostsuitableonefromthelistA-Gto
Thecarrot-and-sticktheoryofmotivation(likeNewtonianphysicaltheory)worksreasonablywellundercertaincircumstances.(4
随机试题
根据固体物质的燃烧特性,其主要有()燃烧方式。
A.氟氯烷烃B.二甲亚砜C.聚乙二醇D.羟苯甲酯E.滑石粉软膏剂中作为透皮吸收促进剂的是
在心肌梗死的急性期,梗死区导联表现有
老刘是一名技术经验丰富的工程师,在技术科,每一位科员都认为老刘的工作相当出色。不久前,原来的科长调到另一个厂去当技术副厂长了,老刘被任命为技术科科长。老刘上任后,下决心要把技术科搞好。在头一个月内,全科室的人都领教了老刘的“新官上任三把火”。小张由于堵车,
对公司而言,发放股票股利的优点有()。
下列关于法律关系主体权利能力与行为能力的说法中,正确的是()。
《党政领导干部选拔任用工作暂行条例》规定,选拔任用党政领导干部,必须坚持的原则是()。
为什么要实行以按劳分配为主体,多种分配方式并存的分配制度?
一只蚂蚁从正八面体一顶点爬到相对的顶点,最快用时2分钟,若蚂蚁爬行速度不变,则它从一个顶点爬到相邻的顶点最快用时为:
面包制作过程中使用酵母主要是利用其哪一种特性?
最新回复
(
0
)