Ivan Camilleri Brussels
Brussels wants to give EU members right to decide on GMO cultivation
Plans to give individual EU member states the right to allow, restrict or ban the cultivation of genetically modified organisms were unveiled by Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner John Dalli yesterday.
Mr Dalli said that while keeping the EU’s science-based genetically modified authorisation system unchanged, the new proposals allowed flexibility to member states.
He denied claims he was trying to push GMOs into the EU market or to make a trade-off with member states for a more liberal authorisation process of GMOs. He insisted he just wanted to give member states more freedom.
“Experience with GMOs so far shows member states need more flexibility to organise the coexistence of GM and other types of crops such as conventional and organic crops,” he said.
“Granting genuine freedom on grounds other than those based on a scientific assessment of health and environmental risks also necessitates a change to the current legislation. I stress that the EU-wide authorisation system, based on solid science, remains fully in place.”
The proposals, which still need the approval of member states and the European Parliament, provide for an additional article in the directive explicitly allowing the countries to restrict or prohibit cultivation of GMOs on their territories. Member states will be able to use any grounds to do so, other than those covered by the health and environmental risk assessment of the EU authorisation process.
At present, the authorisation process of GMOs in the EU is on a case by case basis and is almost completely stalled as member states are divided on whether this type of cultivation should be allowed or not in the EU.
Public opinion in Europe is generally against GM foods and its cultivation in Europe. The biggest two countries, which also command the largest political clout, Germany and France, are against GMO cultivation and have criticised Mr Dalli’s latest move.
French Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire said his country had strong reservations about the proposal on breaking the deadlock on authorising GMOs. “We want decisions to continue to be made on a Community level, not the renationalisation of these decisions,” the minister said.
“Any renationalisation of agricultural issues is a step in the wrong direction. Everything that increases solidarity, working together, imagination, innovation and daring is a move in the right direction,” he added.
Spain, the biggest GM supporter in the EU, and Belgium, which holds the rotating EU presidency, also spoke against Mr Dalli’s initiative.
The Commission’s proposals were immediately shot down by the environmental and anti-GMO lobby. In a joint statement, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace called on national governments to reject the Commission’s proposals.
Mute Schimpf, of Friends of the Earth, said that while the European Commission was seemingly offering countries the right to implement national bans, “in reality the proposal aims to do the opposite, opening Europe’s fields to GM crops”. The Commission, he said, continued to fail to protect Europe’s food and feed from contamination by GM crops.
The biotechnology industry also said it was disappointed with the proposal.
Carel du Marchie Sarvaas, at EuropaBio, the pan-European biotechnology industry group, said: “These proposals appear to give carte blanche to ban safe and approved GM crops in any country or region regardless of the needs or wishes of their farmers.”
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John Portelli
Jul 15th 2010, 15:32
Part 1:
One of the great mysteries surrounding the spread of GMO plants around the world since the first commercial crops were released in the early 1990's in the USA and Argentina has been the absence of independent scientific studies of possible long-term effects of a diet of GMO plants on humans or even rats. Now it has come to light the real reason. The GMO agribusiness companies prohibit independent research.
As a precondition to buy seeds, either to plant for crops or to use in research study, Monsanto and the gene giant companies must first sign an End User Agreement with the company. For the past decade, the period when the greatest proliferation of GMO seeds in agriculture has taken place, these require anyone buying their GMO seeds to sign an agreement that explicitly forbids that the seeds be used for any independent research. Scientists are prohibited from testing a seed to explore under what conditions it flourishes or even fails. They cannot compare any characteristics of the GMO seed with any other . Most alarming, they are prohibited from examining whether the genetically modified crops lead to unintended side-effects either in the environment or in animals or humans.
John Portelli
Jul 15th 2010, 15:28
Part 2:
In the United States a group of twenty four leading university corn insect scientists have written to the US Government Environmental Protection Agency demanding the EPA force a change to the company censorship practice. It is as if Chevrolet or Tata Motors or Fiat tried to censor comparative crash tests of their cars in Consumer Reports or a comparable consumer publication because they did not like the test results. Only this deals with the human and animal food chain. The scientists rightly argue to EPA that food safety and environment protection "depend on making plant products available to regular scientific scrutiny." We should think twice before we eat that next box of American breakfast cereal if the corn used is GMO .
Joe Borg
Jul 15th 2010, 12:06
EU Rules state:
"Food and feed must carry a label which refers to the presence of GMOs. However, these labelling requirements do not apply to food/feed which contains, consists of, or is produced from GMOs in a proportion no higher than 0.9 % of the food/feed ingredients considered individually and if this presence is adventitious or technically unavoidable.
Labelling provides information for consumers and allows them to make an informed choice. In the case of pre-packaged products consisting of, or containing, GMOs, the list of ingredients must indicate "genetically modified" or "produced from genetically modified [name of the organism]". In the case of products without packaging these words must still be clearly displayed in close proximity to the product (such as a note on the supermarket shelf)."
How long will it take the EU to increase the 0.9% level to a higher level?
Not too long as GMO contamination is on the rise, and very fast. So much so that this increase is already being discussed within the EU querters..
John Portelli
Jul 15th 2010, 09:43
MOAM as member of the International Federation of Organic Movements are in favour of strengthening the right of Member States to stay GMO free – but not at the expense of more GMO approvals and not with complete disregard of cross-border contamination problems.
Member States must take their citizens serious and must finally insist to base all EU decisions regarding GMOs on precaution, prevention of contamination and care for health and environment.
Genetic code is transferred from one plant to another and thus cross contamination between the GM seeds and the rest WILL DEFINETLY HAPPEN. Sooner of later the GMO Company will take legal action for compensation against the farmers whose seeds have been contaminated by the GMO code.
Will the EU create a compensation fund to help farmer clean their seeds?
Will the GM seed producer be held liable for the contamination?
Definitely, GM seeds will increase the rate of decline of Biodiversity in our already fragile ecosystem.
www.moam.org.mt
www.ifoam-eu.org
Let's protect biodiversity. Say NO to GMO.
lgalea
Jul 14th 2010, 13:48
Give right to member states?
They HAVE a right to decide what is in their best interests and they can tell the eu to go to hell.
Notice that it says "Brussels wants to give EU members right to decide on GMO cultivation" and not the right to decide whether GMOs can be imported in their territory.
What the eu wants to do is to allow some member states to grow GMOs and then if any other member state prohibits them from entering its territory the eu will jump on the member state for obstructing the freedom of movement of goods because if a product is legal in a member state the other member states cannot prevent its importation in their territory. This is the eu treachery.
Monsanto and the other GMO producers can keep their FRANKENSTEIN food for themselves.
Robert Scullion
Jul 15th 2010, 08:45
@Igalea
Only you can twist things in such a way as to blame the EU for everything.
I'm surprised you haven't claimed this is a way for the EU to introduce the death penalty and to kill everyone (especially as you claimed that the Death Penalty was part of the Lisbon Treaty - which it isn't).