"the biotechnology industry has turned in its quest for converts to the ultimate ice breaker: genetically modified beer" (item 2)

Perhaps hoping some are too drunk to care.

1.Winegrowers declare war on genetically modified grapes
2.Europeans Scoff at Bioengineered Beer
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1.Winegrowers declare war on genetically modified grapes
By GREGORY FLANDERS
Associated Press, July 9, 2004
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/artsfeatures/1672.html

PARIS - Many French vintners are up in arms about what they fear is another threat to their centuries-old winegrowing traditions - genetically modified grapes.

Earth and Wine of the World, an association that includes nearly 400 French winegrowers, is worried about a government research project to tinker with grape genes.

It's a serious concern in a land where the average person over 14 drinks a quarter-bottle of wine a day, and where genetically modified crops are often derided as "Frankenfoods."

"It is of utmost importance that the future of our profession is not determined solely under the influence of scientists, industrialists and technocrats," the group said in a news release Thursday after meeting in Paris to come up with a plan of attack.

The National Institute of Agricultural Research is seeking ways to make vulnerable grapes more resistant to disease, and it plans to replant a batch of genetically modified vines after a five-year pause.

"We're not persuaded that the tests will start with the maximum number of precautions that we consider absolutely necessary," said Alain Graillot, the president of the vintners association, which also includes winegrowers from California to Germany.

"We want to be certain that there will be no accidental spreading, and that any possible toxicity of the plants is completely ruled out," he told The Associated Press.

A small crop of genetically modified grapes was planted in 1996 in eastern France by the champagne manufacturer Moet et Chandon in partnership with the agricultural institute.

But consumer pressure forced the company to dig the plants out of the ground in 1999 and limit research to the lab, said Sylvie Colleu, an institute spokeswoman.

After all, France is the land that made a hero out of Jose Bove, the mustachioed farmer-turned-activist known for ripping up genetically modified crops and ransacking a half-built McDonald's in 1999.

"In France, the consumers of wine are rather traditional, and many are against genetically modified organisms," Colleu said. "And many professionals feel that this could hurt the image of their brands."

The dug-up plants were frozen in a laboratory, and the institute is waiting for the green light from Agriculture Minister Herve Gaymard to replant them.

Jean Masson, the president of the research center in Colmar where the tests would be conducted, said the vines could be planted as early as August.

This time around, the institute has agreed to certain restrictions to ease consumer fears, he said. No wine will be produced from the plants, for example.

Winemakers have complained that there is a lack of dialogue between the researchers and the public. Masson, however, said that he had replied to a letter from Earth and Wine of the World that he had received in March 2003, but that he had no response until a fax last week.

France's vintners have for years suffered a steady erosion of their livelihoods by margin-squeezing supermarket chains, falling demand at home and the growing popularity of Australian and American wines abroad. A government crackdown on drunken driving has also battered domestic sales.

Worried French winemakers are currently waging another battle: trying to loosen restrictions on alcohol advertising.

Their message - that people should drink more - has met with resistance from doctors' groups, who say the French already drink enough.
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2.Europeans Scoff at Bioengineered Beer
By MATT MOORE, AP Business Writer
Associated Press, July 9, 2004
http://www.nynewsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-biotech-beer,0,7426757.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Spurned across the continent by food-fastidious Europeans, the biotechnology industry has turned in its quest for converts to the ultimate ice breaker: genetically modified beer.

A consortium of the world's largest biotech companies led by Monsanto Co. helped fund a Swedish brewer's new light lager that's produced with the usual hops and barley -- and a touch of genetically engineered corn.

Brew master Kenth Persson hopes to profit from the notoriety his biotech brew is generating, while biotech companies hope it can gently sway consumers as European regulators slowly reopen the continent to genetically altered foods.

But those are tall orders to fill.

A series of food-related health scares in recent years, from mad cow disease to poisoned poultry, have stoked fears among many Europeans about so-called GM foods.

Europeans insist that such food be clearly labeled, a vivid contrast with U.S. consumers, who don't appear bothered that so much of their processed food includes genetically engineered soy and corn and isn't labeled as such.

Indeed, most of the European Union's 457 million residents are adamant about their food being kept free from any sort of modifications, genetic or otherwise.

And that might help explain why Kenth beer is hardly a barroom hit.

The brewer won't say how many bottles have been sold since the beer was unveiled earlier this year in Denmark and Sweden. But he says 4,000 bottles are on their way to stores and pubs in Germany and he's in talks with stores in the United Kingdom.

Although research on GM foods hasn't yielded any nightmare scenarios about damage to life and limb, Nicholas Fjord of Malmoe in southern Sweden, is not entirely convinced, either.

Despite reassurances that genetically modified products are safe, an image keeps popping up in Fjord's mind about a relative whose mother took Thalidomide in the 1960s because she was assured it was safe.

"So safe, indeed, that he has no elbow or knee joints and, despite living a good life, has been hindered since his birth," Fjord recalled. Granted, that's an extreme fear, he said, but one that seems to be strong in Europe.

A study conducted earlier this year by Finland's National Consumer Research Center showed that of all the concerns about manufactured food that Finns have, genetically modified foods topped the list. Some 60 percent of the population expressed "strong concern," according to the survey.

In April the EU lifted a six-year moratorium on new biotech food, but just barely. The previous month, it approved the sale of a modified strain of sweet corn, grown mainly in the United States. But any food containing that corn must be labeled as genetically modified.

U.S. farmers argue that the labeling amounts to a de facto ban and the Bush administration says it will continue pushing its biotech trade complaint at the World Trade Organization.

And that's where Kenth comes in.

The beer was created because Monsanto felt the biotech debate "never rose further than the inner circle of scientists, politicians and (nongovernment organizations)," said Mattias Zetterstrand, a Monsanto spokesman based in Stockholm, the Swedish capital. "Our wish was to contribute to this situation by making an abstract discussion more concrete."

The corn in Kenth was approved for use in 1998, before the European moratorium started, and is grown in Germany. The Monsanto-created corn seed is spliced with a bacterium's gene to resist the corn borer pest without the need for insecticides.

Zetterstrand wouldn't say how much the biotech consortium contributed to the project, but said the companies haven't purchased equity in the small Swedish brewer and won't share in sales of the beer. The other companies involved in the project are Bayer CropScience, DuPont, Plant Science Sweden, Svaloef Weibull and Syngenta.

The brewer, Persson, said he realizes that selling a genetically modified beverage in the European Union can be a risky proposition -- especially when its label touts GM ingredients unabashedly.

Greenpeace activists chased Kenth-ladened beer trucks in Sweden and Denmark, discouraging store and tavern owners from buying the brew, when it was first introduced, and Greenpeace continues to pressure big grocery chains to avoid stocking it.

Dan Belusa, a Greenpeace spokesman, said the protest encouraged ICA, a large Swedish grocery store chain, to remove Kenth from its shelves.

"Basically no GM foods are sold in Europe because consumers and retailers make a conscience choice to say 'no' to them," he said.

The brewer and Monsanto say Greenpeace's efforts haven't deterred their plans.

Kenth is now being sold through the Swedish state-owned liquor monopoly, Systembolaget, in southern Sweden and there have been no protests. But its availability is limited.

At a recent barbecue in Ingaroe, a small town about a 30-minute drive from Stockholm, a six-pack of the bottles was offered up for a taste test. The beer was poured in glasses and offered up.

All in all, everyone who quaffed said it tasted just fine, just like other beer.

They weren't put off by its label, which proudly denotes its GM use.

"To me, it's strictly the taste test," said media consultant Debi Vaught-Thelin. "If the beer is made with GM ingredients and tastes OK to me, then yes, I will drink it happily."


AP biotechnology writer Paul Elias in San Francisco contributed to this report.