More than two dozen Washington trade associations eager to promote wider public acceptance of genetically altered food have formed the Alliance for Better Foods. The group's members include the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Meat Institute, the Food Distributors International and the National Food Processors Association. The group, which was cooked up earlier this month, is focusing on public relations rather than lobbying, said Stephen Gaskill, a spokesman for the group. The coalition, he added, operates out of the Washington office of BSMG Worldwide, a New York City-based PR firm. "Biotech food has such promise, and the science is so sound, that we wanted to ensure that products were not derailed by opposition before people have a real chance to understand what this is and what it can do," Gaskill said.

The Alliance for Better Foods joins another group - the International Food Information Council - which has worked on public education about biotech food since 1985. Both groups face continuing criticism of genetically altered foods from, among other organizations, Greenpeace and Consumers Union. Exemplifying the influence of such foes, Greenpeace convinced Gerber Products CO. earlier this year to keep genetically engineered products out of its baby foods, according to Charles Margulis, a specialist in genetic-engineering issues for Greenpeace in Washington.

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