In other words, better safe than sorry. That's the approach many European countries are taking on the genetically modified food issue, which is why TABD members and biotech giants such as Monsanto and Unilever are so keen on killing the precautionary principle. In a related case, the TABD is trying to stifle an E.U. proposal, based on the precautionary principle, to regulate pharmaceuticals containing beef-derived ingredients that could carry traces of mad cow disease. On behalf of its members in the electronics industry, the TABD is trying to eliminate a new E.U. initiative aimed at reducing computer trash. The increase in the use of PCs and other high-tech equipment in recent years has created a huge increase in hazardous waste.
Electronic trash contains many dangerous substances, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium.
To address this, the European Union drafted the Directive on Computer Waste, a law that would require electronic equipment manufacturers to replace those toxic heavy metals with less harmful substances by 2008. The directive also would require manufacturers to begin retrieving and recycling old electronic equipment by 2006. The TABD and its high-tech industry members have mobilized to kill the proposal and have already succeeded in watering it down significantly. Though many of the environmental and consumer laws under attack are European, hundreds of U.S. laws are also in danger of being softened. Read Corporate conspiracy , a Focus on the Corporation column on the TABD meeting.