NCGA
Leaders Begin EU Biotech Mission Today in Italy (6-21-04)
Key leaders of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) arrived in Venice,
Italy, today to begin a 12-day biotechnology mission to the European Union
(EU) and Russia. The trip is sponsored by the U.S. Grains Council (USGC).
NCGA President Dee Vaughan, First Vice President Leon Corzine, Biotech Working
Group Chair Helen Inman and CEO Rick Tolman and several members of USGC are
scheduled to visit Italy, Austria, Hungary, Poland and Russia. Inman said one
of the goals of the trip is to gauge attitudes toward biotechnology in these
nations.
“We want to assess the current status of the biotechnology debate in
Europe, with particular emphasis on the new EU member-states,” said Inman,
a farmer from Bancroft, Iowa. “Another goal is to assess how the new
EU regulations regarding traceability and labeling are going to affect trade.”
Inman said the group will also collaborate with EU officials to develop recommendations
for continued information flow between U.S. producers and their European counterparts.
Inman said the group will also promote the use of biotechnology in non-EU states
such as Russia.
“We’re meeting with a group of different people (in Moscow),” she
said. “And we will definitely push the biotech agenda with them.”
To hear Inman’s interview with the National Association of Farm Broadcasters,
click the ‘Listen Now’ button.