"U.S. companies like Monsanto [3], which invested heavily in [genetically modified crops [4]], suffered huge losses when Europe balked. As part of a public relations effort, the U.S. State Department [5] enlisted a Vatican academy last month as a co-sponsor of a conference in Rome, 'Feeding a Hungry World: The Moral Imperative of Biotechnology [6].'" (This although a United Nations report found [7] "clear evidence that the problems of the poor are being neglected" by the biotech industry.) "In response to such pressure, the European Union [8] has relaxed legal restrictions on genetically modified foods." A Syngenta spokesperson said European consumers' rejection of GMOs is "not based on facts" but "is a political, cultural and media-driven decision."