LONDON -- Genetic biologists -- especially those working for big U.S. companies such as Monsanto -- and U.S. trade negotiators are furious with Europeans because they are not prepared to accept that hormone-injected beef and gene-modified soybeans, rape-seed oil and other genetically modified crops are safe just because some, or even a majority, of scientists say they are.

These products may be safe, but it cannot be asserted categorically that they will not harm the natural environment, including us humans; so far, there has been no scientifically acceptable evidence that harm will never result from the use of GM seeds and hormones. There is also growing concern that the use of antibiotics as a means of boosting growth in cattle may lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. All this has fueled the skepticism of many Europeans about the way their food is being treated. They want much more proof than they have so far been offered about the long-term safety of food products.

The agricultural industry has only itself to blame for the public's skepticism. In Britain, scientists were persuaded by the beef industry and the Ministry of Agriculture to declare beef safe even when there was growing evidence that feed containing the remains of contaminated sheep was causing symptoms of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad-cow disease, in cattle. The coverup is still being investigated, although British beef has now been declared safe and the European export ban has been lifted.