The controversy appears to be spreading. Perhaps even more worrisome to American companies, the environmental group Friends of the Earth has kicked off protests at grocery stores across the United States. And the Food and Drug Administration, which could technically restrict GM food if it determined it was harmful, is holding hearings to decide if it should be a more active watchdog over the industry. Some believe the controversy will go away if products emerge with obvious consumer benefits. For example, some companies in the biotech industry are working on techniques to improve nutrition or add disease-fighting properties to crops.
Executives see the backlash as a short-term reaction against something that is strange and new.
But if farmers are forced to segregate their plots into biotech and nonbiotech sections to satisfy overseas consumers, some might not bother with biotech products at all. And if farmers start avoiding the products, as some already have, the companies and their investors might question the wisdom of spending money on the research. Who ultimately wins the debate will determine what kind of food we eat. It will also determine the fate of the biotech companies, including several major players in San Diego, that are investing billions in the race to understand plant genetics. There is no simple explanation for why Europeans are rejecting food that many Americans eat without a second thought.