Protest disrupts Tour de France
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3068985.stm

New peril for Armstrong on Tour: street protests
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/20030715-1328-cyc-tourdefrance.html
 MARSEILLE, France - Crashes, fatigue and sweltering heat are the usual perils. Lance Armstrong was presented with a new hazard Tuesday at the Tour de France - street protests. The disruption cost him and other riders precious time. Armstrong was stuck in a pack of riders briefly blocked by demonstrators. The protest forced riders to stop after supporters of radical farmer Jose Bove ran into the road and blocked cyclists near Pourrieres, about 91 miles into the race. Tour officials ruled the protest was a "normal race incident". A day earlier on Bastille Day, away from the Tour, police arrested six protesters, including three carrying banners in support of Bove. He was jailed last month for destroying genetically modified crops.
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EU Takes Member States to Court Over GMOs
Tuesday July 15, 2003
http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=3093180
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The EU Commission, fending off a trade suit over Europe's refusal to import genetically modified organisms (GMOs), turned its fire on 11 out of 15  EU states on Tuesday for failing to adopt new rules on GMO permits.
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Poll: Most in U.S. Would Shun Labeled Biotech Foods
Tue July 15, 2003
http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=3093938

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than half of American adults surveyed said they would be less likely to buy a food product at the grocery store if it carried a label  saying it contained gene-altered ingredients, according to an ABC News poll released on Tuesday.

The survey of 1,024 adults also found that 92 percent said the federal government should require labels on biotech foods.

U.S. food makers and the Bush administration oppose special labels on genetically modified foods, contending they meet the same safety and nutrition standards as conventional foods.

However, the European Parliament earlier this month passed laws to require labels on biotech foods, reflecting the concerns of many Europeans about long-term health and environmental impacts.

The ABC News poll said that 55 percent of Americans surveyed said they would avoid foods carrying a biotech label.

However, that survey response rose to 62 percent among women, who do most of the food shopping for U.S. families.
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Pioneer contests Italy order to destroy gene maize
15 July 2003
http://www.forbes.com/technology/newswire/2003/07/15/rtr1025347.html
MILAN, July 15 (Reuters) - The Italian unit of Pioneer Hi-Bred, a subsidiary of Dupont Co, headed to court on Tuesday to contest an order to destroy maize fields thought to contain gene-modified material, a spokesman said. Piedmont region in northwest Italy on Friday ordered the destruction of 381 hectares of maize fields thought to contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Commercial sowing of GMO seeds is banned in Italy under a so-called zero tolerance policy.