Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
If all manufacturers were to pursue a non-GE strategy, farmers would
eventually abandon GE technologies and consumer choice would be
restricted to potentially higher cost non-GE products. If manufacturers were
to pursue an undifferentiated strategy, then farmers' use of the technology
would be determined by production costs and consumers would be faced
with markets in which they could not differentiate between GE and non-GE
foods. If manufacturers pursue both strategies, some farmers would
continue to use the technology while others would grow conventional crops
to supply non-GE markets. In this scenario, consumers would have a choice
between GE and non-GE food, at least for some products.
Source: Productscan Online.
Annual non-GE new product introductions in the United States.
In the United States, where unlabeled foods may contain GE
ingredients, the data show that manufacturers have been active in creating a
market for GE- free foods. From 2000 to 2004, manufacturers introduced
over 3,500 products that had explicit non-GE labeling, mostly food
products, with annual totals ranging from 854 in 2003 to 631 in 2004. This
is in addition to organic foods (organic crops may not be grown using GE
techniques) (Dimitri and Greene, 2002). In the European Union and Japan,
where unlabeled foods cannot contain GE ingredients, manufacturers have
chosen a non-GE marketing strategy. Very few products labeled as
containing GE ingredients are found on European or Japanese grocery store
shelves. The data also show that there have been limited attempts to market
GE products in the United States. There were far fewer new GE products
introduced than new non-GE products, and most of the GE products were
introduced in the 1990s. GE products included tomatoes (advertised as
better tasting with a longer shelf life), canola oil (advertised as heat stable),
shrimp (advertised as gourmet-quality), beef (low-fat), dietary supplements,
cigarettes (low-nicotine), and a drain cleaner.
