UPDATED: EU countries
now taking action 02 March 2010 - International
— Just when we thought the threat to our
environment couldn't get any worse after
world leaders failed to secure a deal to
save the climate in Copenhagen - we're now
stunned to discover that the EU
Commission is exploiting a 'backdoor' loophole
to get genetically manipulated crops onto
the supermarket shelves in the EU - and
into our mouths.
The European Commission
has just authorised the cultivation of a
genetically engineered crop for the first
time since 1998. Health Commissioner John
Dalli, in agreement with EU President Barroso,
used a procedural move -- the so-called
'written procedure' -- to authorise a genetically
engineered potato and thereby avoided a
debate in the College of Commissioners.
The genetically engineered potato (known
as Amflora) has been developed by German
agro-chemical company BASF.
It is widely accepted
that GE crops pose an unacceptable risk
to the environment, as well as to human
and animal health. However, the Health Commissioner
has literally forced the authorisation of
this crop without even holding a debate
with his fellow Commissioners. By hiding
behind bureaucratic formalities the EU Commission
is essentially force-feeding Europeans with
products that they don’t want. Such a decision
is shocking and sets a dangerous precedent
that the profit-driven agro-chemical companies
will undoubtedly take advantage of.
UPDATE: March 4th, The
shocking approval of the GE potato by Barroso's
Commission has been met with a wave of strong
reactions among the EU member-states. The
governments of Greece, Austria, Luxembourg,
Italy, Hungary and France have publicly
announced that they will not allow the cultivation
of the GE potato in their countries. And
various ministers have expressed their frustration
with the decision of Barroso -- who is neglecting
the unanimous call from the EU Environment
Ministers Council to repair the system of
authorisations of GE crops. Germany company
Emsland, the second biggest starch producer
worldwide, has also announced that they
will not use the GE potato because of the
strong opposition against it.
What's the big deal?
The BASF GE potato contains a gene resistant
to certain antibiotics. Releasing it into
the environment could raise bacterial resistance
to life-saving medicines, including drugs
used for the treatment of tuberculosis.
The World Health Organization and the European
Medicines Agency have warned about the critical
importance of the antibiotics affected by
the gene inserted into the Amflora potato.
In this respect, the authorisation of BASF's
GE potato breaches EU law. Since December
2004, it is forbidden to market crops with
antibiotic resistant genes that could pose
a threat to human health or the environment.
Barroso has been trying
to force GE food onto the European market
against the wishes of many member states
and public opinion. He has allowed thousands
of agro-chemicals to the markets without
health or environmental safety tests.
It's not just about
potatoes...
We have urgent concerns about the intention
of President Barroso and Health Commissioner
Dalli to authorise the cultivation of genetically
engineered crops in Europe. Hot on the trails
of the GE potato are three pesticide-producing
maize varieties produced by Monsanto (MON810),
Pioneer (Bt11) and Syngenta (1507) all awaiting
authorisation. All of these crops have proven
adverse environmental impacts.
GE crops cause many
environmental problems. Most of them are
created to resist high does of herbicides
(developed and sold by the same companies
that market the GE crop). As a consequence
weed populations become resistant to herbicides
and farmers need to increase the amount
of chemicals spread on fields. Apart from
hitting farmers economically the chemicals
could affect their health. And the increased
usage of agro-chemicals has serious effect
on insects that are naturally part of the
eco system and are an essential part of
it. Throwing the insect population out of
balance could result in need of heavy use
of insecticides to control them, adding
to the chemical cocktail on our food, soils
and water. On top of that GE crops could
sporadically spread and interbreed with
non GE environments, contaminating and taking
over farmer’s crops. This sometimes creates
'monster plants' and gives farmers no other
choice but to purchase GE seeds and the
chemicals to grow them, from agro-chemical
giants like Monsanto or BASF.
A-maize-ing in Mexico
In Mexico - our activists scaled a national
monument and unfolded a massive banner in
Guadalajara (see image above) - where an
international conference started this week
on agricultural biotechnologies in developing
countries. The banner called on the UN Food
and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to stop
GE crops and protect maize.
We expect this conference
to heavily promote the propaganda that GE
is one of the tools needed to help developing
countries out of hunger and poverty. This
conference is taking place just as Mexico
is about to unleash GE maize in experimental
field trials. Mexico is the centre of origin
and diversity for this staple crop. Cultivating
GE maize here will irreversibly contaminate
a centre of biodiversity.
Our office in Mexico
is also contributing to the organisation
of a parallel forum that is going to run
during the FAO conference, with round tables
on risks and alternatives to GE, movie showings,
a demonstration and meetings with media
and local celebrities who support ecological
farming.
GE-free Germany
On Monday, over 500 of our activists from
all over Germany ate a GE-free lunch at
the Brandenburg Gate to protest the GE-friendly
policies of the government. Even though
most Germans object to genetically manipulated
food, the government wants to promote GE
agriculture, especially -- yes you've guessed
it! -- the GE 'Amflora potato' from BASF.
The banquet was set up so that the tables
spelled out 'NEIN' (NO) when seen from above.
According to a public poll in January, 79
percent of Germans oppose GE crops for cultivation
because of the ecological risks. And they
don't want to be 'guinea-pigs' for the GE
industry.
Flogging a dead horse
In April 2008, the World Bank and several
UN bodies concluded the Global Agricultural
Assessment Report, the first-ever scientific
assessment of global agriculture. It was
compiled over four years by more than 400
scientists from around the world and signed
by 58 governments. Contrary to the GE industry
propaganda, this assessment sees no role
for GE crops in eradicating hunger and ensuring
food security. The future of agriculture
lies in agroecological systems that create
jobs and stimulate rural development, defend
nature and people by protecting soil, water
and climate, and promote biodiversity. Such
farming systems ensure healthy farming and
healthy food for today and tomorrow, and
do not contaminate the environment with
chemicals or genetic engineering.
European citizens mostly
reject GE food and have done so consistently
for almost 15 years. About 60 percent of
the EU population oppose the use of GE crops
in agriculture. In 2009 European farmers
planted 11 percent fewer GE crops compared
to the previous year, due to higher prices
and the low appeal of GE crops. Given the
overwhelming and diverse outcries against
GE crops from countries around the world
we find it especially disturbing that the
EU Comission is now by-passing proper procedures
for GE authorisation.
