Spurned across the continent by food-fastidious Europeans, the biotechnology industry has turned in its quest for converts to the ultimate ice-breaker: genetically modified beer. A consortium of the world’s largest biotech companies led by Monsanto Co. helped fund a Swedish brewer’s new light lager that’s produced with the usual hops and barley — and a touch of genetically engineered corn. Brew master Kenth Persson hopes to profit from the notoriety his biotech brew is generating, while biotech companies hope it can gently sway consumers as European regulators slowly reopen the continent to genetically altered foods.
