Food Regulations in Europe Could Hamper Trade Deal with U.S.
Everything from snobbish protectionism to unscientific fears of genetically modified crops
Europeans can be downright fussy when it comes to their food.
Many of them think, for example, that only the rich, hard cheese that has been made for hundreds of years in the Parma region of Italy should be labeled as Parmesan – not the stuff made by Illinois-based Kraft or others.
And despite repeated assurances from the United States, many of them have questioned whether it's really safe to eat meat injected with hormones or the genetically modified crops that Americans gobble up by the bushels.
Food issues could be among the trickiest to overcome as U.S. negotiators aim to expand trade with the European Union, moving on a plan announced Tuesday night by President Barack Obama in his State of the Union speech.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?