April 27, 2015
EU OKs more GM crops, but members may ban use under new proposal
Seventeen more genetically modified (GM) crops which are mostly used in animal feed have been approved for sale in the European Union, causing environmentalists to raise a howl. On the other hand, the US is asking that the rules be further eased.
The newly approved crops consist of five types of soy, seven types of cotton, three types of corm and two types of oilseed rape, raising the number of GMcrops that are already used in food and animal feed in the EU to 58.
However, the European Commission adopted last week a proposal that allows member states more freedom to restrict or prohibit the use of EU-authorised genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food or feed on their territory.
While the US, South America and Asia widely use GM crops, European countries are more wary of the GM crops'' impact on health and wildlife.
The EC''s proposal granting more leeway to member countries on the use GM crops for food and animal feed meant that the Commission "has listened to the concerns of many European citizens", according to Health and Food Safety Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis.
But Green Member of the European Parliament Bart Staes, a food safety specialist, accused the EC of ignoring widespread opposition to GMOs among EU citizens.
"This gung-ho approach to GMOs also has to be seen in the context of the EU-US TTIP [Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership] negotiations and the long-running US campaign to force their GMOs on to the EU market", he said.
The US is neither pleased with the EC proposal. Saying the US was "very disappointed", US Trade Representative Michael Froman called the proposal "hard to reconcile with the EU''s international obligations".
Justified ban
Under the proposal, a country has to justify banning a certain GM crop type based on specific national or regional grounds, such as social or environmental impact rather than health concerns.
Reviews of different studies have in fact found that GMOs have no ill-effects on the health of humans and food animals. One of the latest studies, commissioned by the the Home Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA), an attached agency of the UK Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and released early last month, even found that GM crop production carries no negative environmental impacts compared to conventional cropping—and may offer environmental advantages.
The report said "an evidence-based review on the likely economic and environmental impact of genetically modified cereals and oilseeds for UK agriculture" examines the best available evidence on overseas experience of GM adoption, pulling together data from more than 170 publications, reports and studies to explore possible scenarios for the UK.
HGCA''s Dr. Vicky Foster said "it was important to develop an independent evidence-base, free from distortion and speculation, to better prepare the industry for the implications of GM crop production, should the technology become available in the UK".
The UK, along with Spain and Sweden, is calling for the easing of EU''s GM rules, while Austria, France and Germany are among the EU countries strongly opposed.
The EU imports 60% OF its required animal feed, with the soya in that feed coming from such GM soy-growing countries as Brazil, Argentina and the US.
EU authorities have so far approved only two GM crops for commercial cultivation, with one of them later blocked by a court, leaving Monsanto''s GM maize MON810 as the only GM crop grown in Europe. MON810 has been cultivated in Spain and Portugal for the past decade. --Rick Alberto