In this light, breeding is to create a new software, while farming is re-producing and multiplying , i.e. copying it . It is totally independent of government, of industry, and of any lobbying groups or special interest groups. Inc. To average consumers in most countries, the GATT, SPS and TBT Agreements, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the World Trade Organisation and other agencies that address food quality and food safety issues at the international level are unfamiliar, abstract, distant entities. It is hard for ordinary consumers to grasp how the work of these bodies affects their daily lives and food choices. Inc. Agriculture is a global business.
People routinely eat fresh, frozen, and processed foods from around the world.
The agrifood system provides tremendous benefits globally at relatively modest cost. Increasing numbers of people are well fed and, although outbreaks of famine remain, food assistance has been available during most disasters. The Swiss Science Council . The Third World Network . Implications for Developing Countries of Proposals to Consider Trade in GMOs at the WTO by Matthew Stilwell, Centre for International Environmental Law .