With TTIP, Food Business Is Pulling A Quick One On Consumers — Again

In today's day and age, consumers across Europe and the U.S. "are interested in seeing stronger, more effective regulations" when it comes to most, if not all, aspects of the food industry. However, the controversial new Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) "will take us in the opposite direction and set the global standard for other trade deals," according to a report.

The new trade deal would allow businesses to sue for "anticipated lost profits" that come about as a result of new food and farming regulations. These regulations could cover anything from contamination from genetically modified crops to labeling of food packaging to animal welfare standards.

The study highlighting these shortcomings is titled Selling Off the Farm: Corporate Meat's Takeover Through TTIP. The investigation paints a horrifying picture of "Big Meat" using TTIP to strong-arm the industry into meeting its demands. It finds the industry "aggressively using TTIP" to undermine governmental efforts to regulate their businesses and protect public health.

The method for this undermining is simple: Through the TTIP, meat companies would be able to introduce cheaper products that do not necessarily meet EU standards for food safety, thanks to its importation from America.

The EU, for its part, has denied this report's claims, highlighting individual countries' ability to set standards for the protection of their food and people "as high as they wish." However, seeing that talks around this agreement have been going on for years amid shrouds of secrecy, rumors invariably abound.

This is only the latest piece of legislation that comes as "good" news for the food industry and bad news for consumers. In America, a GMO labeling bill will be passed by Congress to preempt harsher local measures while giving companies easy loopholes to avoid prominent labeling of the genetically modified nature of its products.