Food labeling is part of a strategy for elimination. Get the food labeled, and build up strong consumer distrust and, ergo, biotech products are gone. The goal is not to inform but to eliminate and most importantly to beat the multinational chemical and drug companies. The corporate control issue also best explains the involvement of groups such as the Council of Canadians and the National Farmers Union, with virtually no track records on food quality or environmental issues, but strong histories of distrust of large multinational companies and big-business approach to global economy. The activists message has appeal.
Consumers aren t consistent.
They drive past locally owned stores to shop at Wal Mart, they buy automobiles and gasoline from a small club of largely multinational companies, they watch and read media controlled by a few large companies, and buy health products from a handful of chemical or pharmaceutical corporations. Because of low prices or for convenience. The purchases represent perceived value for money. But they don t like such corporate control, and generally distrust large companies. And they see agri-food biotechnology increased corporate control of food and agriculture as more of the same, and without obvious immediate benefits to them.