010915 Biotech vs. Activists In Gene-Modified Fields

0labrihe, France - A sickle in his hand and a broad grin on his face, Jacques Lachaud wiped the sweat from his brow after helping to destroy a field of genetically modified corn near this southwestern French town.

“This feels really good,” the retired shopkeeper said as the late summer sun beat down on him and approximately 150 other activists taking part in the illegal protest of genetically enhanced crops.

Standing on the dusty earth where just minutes earlier hundreds of plants were being grown by a French farmer on behalf of U.S. biotechnology giant Monsanto, Lachaud explained the simple motive behind his radical act.

“I'm sick of eating lousy food,” he said. “I will definitely be back for more (protests) if they want us.”

Poor food -- known in France as “la malbouffe” -- has become a national preoccupation in recent years, with everyone from small consumers to the country's farm minister weighing in on how to improve the quality of French cuisine.

Why all the fuss? It's simple enough: a series of food scares and farm panics have revealed that France, while certainly not serving the worst meals in the world, may have lost its reputation for having the best.

SERIES OF FOOD SCARES

The problems began in the mid-1990s when there were outbreaks of listeria, a food-borne germ that kills infants, pregnant women and the elderly.

Then there were consumer panics over bioengineered crops and a subsequent scare linked to cancer-causing dioxin in imports of Belgian meat.

Environmentalists have also charged that water supplies in certain regions of the country have become contaminated by pesticides -- a casualty of the intensive farming habits that have marked French agriculture since the Second World War.

But the real shocker was the discovery last October that meat from a French herd infected with mad cow disease had made its way into the human food chain.

Almost overnight, two of France's proudest traditions -- gastronomy and farming -- were turned on their heads, as homes, school kitchens and restaurants stripped the meat from menus and beef prices dropped 40%.

The government banned meat and bone meal in animal feed, commonly believed to be the main factor behind the spread of mad cow disease, and it outlawed T-bone steaks, because the spine is one of the most infective parts of a diseased animal.

The ensuing gastronomic chaos culminated earlier this year when Arpege, a high temple of the normally carnivorous Paris food scene, went vegetarian.

“We must get back to the essences of the earth. I hope to contribute to a deep change in culinary creation,” Arpege chef Alain Passard said as he announced his dramatic move.

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

Frederic Jollet of livestock market analysts MHR Viandes said the food crises pushed quality to the front of consumers' minds after a long absence.

“For years, markets were geared toward consumerism and the need to produce at low cost,” he said. “But the debates of recent years show us that it can't only be about price.”

He said a good example of how consumers are putting quality first lies in the revitalized fortunes of traditional butcher shops, which consumers perceive as supplying better meats than supermarkets.

Jollet said the French have learned to be more conscious about the environment, a point illustrated by the growing number of farmers producing food organically, or without the use of chemicals.

The cult-hero status of activist and farmer Jose Bove, who has lashed out at both McDonald's fast food and GM produce, is another case in point.

Benoit Vergriette, of the French organic farmers' union FNAB, pointed out that “more and more farmers are looking at organic production.” In fact, he said some 3,000 farmers are expected to make the shift this year.

POLITICIANS WEIGH IN

Changes such as this, and the new health-conscious attitude of food retailers and politicians, are finally reassuring consumers.

French Agriculture Minister Jean Glavany said more changes are needed in the way France, and Europe, feeds itself.

He and his German counterpart, Renate Kuenast, recently agreed that the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy should switch its focus from quantity to quality.

Glavany is no stranger to the struggle against “la malbouffe,” having sparked a transatlantic war of words two years ago when he described the United States as having “the worst food in the world.”

The minister remains unrepentant about American-style food. He recently said that he was battling to ensure that fast food did not devour the planet.

“This 'fast food' made with ground beef, with a certain tomato sauce, fries and sugary, gassy drinks, does not strike me as a universal dream,” he said.

“Just look at the obesity level in a certain country and you'll understand why I want to spare Europeans this.”

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