German official pulls out of Sacramento ag expo

Sacramento 13 June - Germany's agriculture minister has pulled out of
the upcoming international agriculture ministerial conference in
Sacramento, leaving it without a European Union official on the
program.

Although German officials cited important meetings that demanded her
attention in Europe, the minister's announcement comes at the same
time some U.S. politicians have stepped up criticism of European
countries for not embracing genetically engineered food.

Walter Leuchs, deputy consul general for Germany in San Francisco,
said German Food and Agriculture Minister Renate Künast wasn't making
a statement against U.S. biotechnology efforts. Instead, he said, she
was obliged to stay in Europe for newly planned meetings about the
European Union's common agricultural policy.

Top officials from more than 100 mostly developing countries are
expected for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's first
ministerial-level meeting on agricultural science and technology, at
the Sacramento Convention Center.

The U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service had touted the participation of
Künast -- the only European government minister on the preliminary
speakers list -- as a sign that the Bush administration wasn't
stacking the June 23-25 conference with supporters of genetically
modified foods.