Fwd: EU ban over biotech foods may soon be tested

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" News Update from The Campaign "

EU ban over biotech foods may soon be tested

Fri, 7 Nov 2003 08:00:05 -0600

 

News Update From The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

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Dear News Update Subscribers,

 

On Monday, the 15 nations that make up the European Union (EU) may vote

on whether or not to allow a particular variety of genetically engineered corn

to be sold.

 

This vote is considered important because it is the first attempt to

remove the ban on genetically engineered foods since the EU passed their

new comprehensive labeling legislation. The vote may be postponed until

December or January if the EU Commission feels the outcome of the vote

would be to reject the genetically engineered corn.

 

The corn being considered is from Syngenta and would be sold in a can.

It is unlikely that many grocery stores would stock it since there is a

lot of consumer opposition to genetically engineered foods in Europe.

 

The bigger question is whether the EU will allow genetically engineered

crops to be commerically grown in Europe. That won't be considered until

next year.

 

Posted below are four articles that discuss the developments in Europe

from several different perspectives.

 

The first article is titled " EU prepares for test vote on five-year GMO ban. "

The second is titled " EU D-Day looms over GMO ban, consumers still

wary. "

 

The third article is titled " Austrian region to go to court for GMO-free

zone. " And the fourth article is titled " Canadian growers warn UK

farmers of GMO crop risks. "

 

We will let you know if the EU Commission does vote on Monday and, if

so, what the outcome is of the vote.

 

Craig Winters

Executive Director

The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods

 

The Campaign

PO Box 55699

Seattle, WA 98155

Tel: 425-771-4049

Fax: 603-825-5841

E-mail: label

Web Site: http://www.thecampaign.org

 

Mission Statement: " To create a national grassroots consumer campaign

for the purpose of lobbying Congress and the President to pass

legislation that will require the labeling of genetically engineered

foods in the United States. "

 

***************************************************************

 

EU prepares for test vote on five-year GMO ban

By Jeremy Smith, Reuters

 

BRUSSELS, Nov 7 (Reuters) - A bitter transatlantic trade row over

gene-spliced crops may be nearing its end as the European Union

considers ending a five-year ban on biotech products -- due to a type of

sweetcorn.

 

Representatives of the bloc's 15 member states meet on Monday to discuss

whether to approve a genetically modified (GM) sweetcorn variety,

despite continued consumer scepticism about the controversial

technology.

 

If they vote 'yes', the EU's unofficial blockade on new GM imports would

end, clearing the way for a range of GM products and pleasing key EU

trade partners like the pro-biotech United States.

 

But even if the EU lifts its ban next week, farmers have many months to

wait before getting a green light to plant biotech crops: the acid test

of whether the EU moratorium is over, diplomats say.

 

Farmers would then have to convince overwhelmingly sceptical consumers

to buy their GM produce, taking the economic gamble of sowing some of

their land with biotech, not conventional, seeds.

 

European consumer opposition to GM produce, estimated at more than 70

percent, still deters many supermarkets from stocking gene-spliced

foods. Many retailers say they have no reason to offer more for sale

until they see a rise in demand.

 

But while a 'yes' vote would be a watershed for GM imports for use in

food production, another battle lies ahead: when EU governments are

asked to authorise live genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that can

be planted and grown in Europe's fields.

 

" Given that this is a food that we are looking at, it is different. It's

the least contentious. There isn't a direct crossover (with live GMOs), "

one EU diplomat said.

 

" Some might say the moratorium is lifted (with an approval). But until

we get a live GMO for planting, it will be difficult to draw anything

from the debate. It's far from the endgame. "

 

DEBATE, MAYBE A VOTE

 

The discussion to be held by one of the EU's myriad specialist

committees will address Bt-11 maize, marketed by Swiss agrochemicals

giant Syngenta. This is a food product to be eaten straight from the

can, and not for planting.

 

The dossier has been ready for months, and the EU's executive Commission

has been waiting for the right moment to test its view of EU country

voting loyalties. If approved, retailers would not be able to sell Bt-11

maize until mid-April.

 

Whether there is a vote on Monday or not will depend on which way the

mood of the debate is running. If the Commission senses opposition to an

approval, it is likely to postpone a vote until the committee's next

meeting in December or January.

 

" The Commission will certainly not propose a vote if it feels there is

too much concern or if they may get a negative vote, " said Eric Gall of

environmental group Greenpeace.

 

" But they want to show the U.S. they are trying hard to approve new GM

products, " he said. Farmers in the United States say the ban costs them

millions of dollars a year in lost sales.

 

The United States, along with Canada and Argentina, has challenged the

EU's de facto ban at the World Trade Organisation, saying the EU is

acting illegally.

 

The ban was triggered when a handful of EU countries said in 1998 they

would refuse new GMO authorisations until there were stricter laws on

testing and labelling.

 

If these countries are out-voted on Monday, it could at least lend some

political momentum to the Commission's drive to reopen the whole GMO

approvals process, diplomats said.

 

 

11/07/03 04:50 ET

 

***************************************************************

 

EU D-Day looms over GMO ban, consumers still wary

By Aine Gallagher, Reuters

 

BRUSSELS, Nov 5 (Reuters) - For five years, the European Union has been

in legal limbo over genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

 

It hit the panic button in 1998 as public opposition to biotechnology

exploded, calling a halt to trade in biotech products.

 

Green activists hogged the headlines, destroying fields planted with

what they dubbed " Frankenstein foods, " while consumers baulked at buying

genetically modified foods in supermarkets across Europe.

 

But the period of grace is fast coming to an end.

 

The European Commission, the EU's executive, says it could be asking

member states to vote on introducing new genetically modified crops and

food products by the end of the year.

 

" It could be as early as November, " said an official.

 

In just a few weeks, the 15-nation bloc could be faced with a major

political decision -- whether or not to banish the ban and give new GM

varieties the green light.

 

The EU is under intense international pressure as the pro-biotech United

States is challenging the ban in the World Trade Organisation.

 

EU officials have indicated that member states could vote first on

allowing imports of two new types of GM maize for use in food

production, though the formal agenda has yet to be set.

 

Green groups say a 'yes' vote would find favour with the United States,

where maize farmers are the most vocal critics of the EU ban and claim

that the closed European market costs them nearly $300 million a year in

lost exports.

 

Five EU states -- France, Greece, Luxembourg, Italy and Denmark --

triggered the unofficial ban in 1998 by refusing to endorse any new GM

crop authorisations.

 

This meant that no new GMOs pending approval could be imported or grown

in the EU. Joined later by Austria, Belgium and Germany, the group of

GM-sceptic states dictated events.

 

They insisted that the ban had to remain until the EU agreed tough rules

on planting GM crops and ensured the traceability and labelling of all

GM food and feed.

 

Consumer champions, they said it was vital to give the wary European

public the choice between GM and non-GM products on supermarket shelves.

 

FINAL PIECES IN PUZZLE?

 

The Commission says all the major pieces in the GMO puzzle are now in

place.

 

Rules for growing GM plants are already in operation, while legislation

for labelling food and animal feed containing GMOs is now being

rubber-stamped and should apply by early 2004.

 

Non-biotech food products will be allowed a maximum 0.9 percent

genetically modified organism (GMO) content.

 

But the Commission plan for agreeing rules on seed purity -- it has

proposed a GMO content of up to 0.7 percent for conventional and organic

seeds -- before the end of 2003 has been dashed due to member state

demands for extra safety checks.

 

The earliest date for adoption of rules setting the permitted level of

GMO content in seed for organic and conventional crop cultivation is in

the first part of 2004.

 

Environmentalists say this would be a licence to pollute.

 

" Without seed purity, it will be impossible to prevent the genetic

contamination of organic and conventional crops, " said Mauro Albrizio,

vice president of the European Environmental Bureau.

 

NOT IN MY BACKYARD

 

It is increasingly clear that while states may be prepared to allow new

GMO imports for use in food production in the near future, growing

biotech crops on a large scale in Europe's fields is still a long way

away.

 

So far, Spain is the only EU country to grow GM crops commercially.

 

Simon Barber, director of the plant biotechnology unit at biotech lobby

group Europabio, is pragmatic.

 

" We should be able to offer products to the marketplace but I don't

think the end is in sight for consumers, " he said. " We might have

approval of products but we're not going to see a massive influx. It's

going to be slow and steady. "

 

Farm ministers are currently debating Commission guidelines on limiting

the spread of GMOs from biotech plants to organic and conventional crops

in Europe's fields.

 

Green groups want GMO-free zones to be created. While Italy and Austria

favour this approach, the Commission has already taken a tough stance.

It threw out a request from the region of upper Austria for a three-year

ban on GM crops in September.

 

Biotech campaigners fear GM-sceptic states are using the issue to delay

ditching the ban.

 

The Commission insists that its GMO policy aims to give wary European

consumers enough information to decide for themselves whether or not to

buy GM products.

 

But the consumer is king and a farmer's decision to grow a GM crop is

made at the supermarket checkout.

 

According to a Commission survey, more than 70 percent of EU consumers

do not want to buy GM products.

 

" It's ultimately down to the market, " one senior Commission official

said.

 

 

11/05/03 08:15 ET

 

***************************************************************

 

Austrian region to go to court for GMO-free zone

 

BRUSSELS, Nov 4 (Reuters) - An Austrian region that wants to declare

itself free of genetically modified (GM) crops said on Tuesday it would

take its fight with the European Commission to court.

 

" It's David standing up in front of Goliath, " Upper-Austria's regional

farm minister Josef Stockinger told a news conference in Brussels. " It's

a very important legal step to bring attention to our concerns. "

 

Upper Austria, which wants to ban its farmers from using the

controversial technology, said it would go to court to challenge the

Commission's rejection of its request to create the first GM-free zone

in the 15-nation European Union.

 

The region will lodge a case in the European Court of First Instance,

the EU's lower court based in Luxembourg, officials said.

 

As the EU nears lifting a five-year de facto ban on most GM crops and

products, countries and regions opposed to biotechnology are

intensifying their efforts to keep the ban in place.

 

The Austrian region argues that the Commission, the EU's executive arm,

did not properly evaluate the scientific evidence it presented about the

danger GM crops pose to the environment -- threatening wildlife and

organic farming.

 

The Commission rejected this argument.

 

" We took the decision based on sound science, " a Commission spokesman

said. " If farmers in Upper Austria want to establish a GM-free zone,

we've no problem with that once it's done on a voluntary basis with

freedom of choice. "

 

However, the widespread cultivation of biotech crops in Europe remains a

distant prospect and the EU is concentrating on resuming GM crop imports

for use in food production.

 

The Commission will ask member states to vote next week on introducing a

new type of GM maize -- BT11 GM sweet corn made by Swiss agrochemicals

firm Syngenta .

 

EU farm ministers are also discussing Commission guidelines on how to

limit the spread of GM organisms from biotech crops to conventional and

organic varieties.

 

Austria and Italy want strict EU rules rather than leaving it up to each

country and region to decide individually the best way to protect

traditional agriculture.

 

 

11/04/03 18:11 ET

 

***************************************************************

 

Canadian growers warn UK farmers of GMO crop risks

 

LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Canadian farmers with first hand experience

growing genetically modified (GMO) crops say the technology will damage

Britain's booming organic food sector and leave fields strewn with

" super weeds " grown from stray, leftover seeds.

 

" I took the decision to stop growing GM canola (the Canadian variant of

rapeseed) because it was impossible to stop it spreading to other fields

-- the seeds cling to the machinery and are easily transferred, even

with intensive cleaning, " David Bailey, a Saskatchewan-based farmer told

Reuters on Monday.

 

" My neighbours all had the same problem, " he added.

 

But suppliers of GM seeds say the majority of Canadian growers are not

complaining.

 

" Conservative estimates indicate that 65 percent of the Canadian canola

crop in 2002 was genetically modified. It can only capture this portion

of the market if it offers significant advantages to Canadian farmers, "

a spokesman for the London-based Agriculture Biotechnology Commission

(ABC), which represents major biotech firms like Monsanto, said.

 

Bailey, who grew herbicide-tolerant rapeseed on around 350 hectares (865

acres) in the late 1990s, said he also found few economic benefits in

growing the gene-spliced variety.

 

" The only party to profit was the chemical company that charged me a

licence fee, " said Bailey, who was invited to Britain to tell local

growers of his experiences by the pro-organic UK Soil Association.

 

Jim Robbins, a Canadian grower who is converting from conventional to

organic farming and who is also talking with UK farmers this week, said

GMO crops would ruin the livelihoods of organic farmers.

 

" You can't grow organic canola in Canada anymore, simply because the GM

variety exists, " Robbins said.

 

" The potential problems with GM crops have been well documented in the

UK -- our experiences bear out these concerns. "

 

A group representing 1,000 organic farmers in the Saskatchewan province

has already taken out a class-action suit against two major

manufacturers of GMO crops for making it impossible for them to grow

rapeseed on their land, since they can no longer guarantee that it is

GM-free.

 

GM WHEAT WORRIES GROW

 

But David Bailey said Canada's farming sector is now facing an even

bigger GM threat, this time from wheat, which U.S. biotech giant

Monsanto is keen to introduce.

 

" With GM canola, we lost a C$300-400 million (a year) market share

because Europe stopped importing it. If Canada grows GM wheat, we stand

to lose much, much more than that. It will shut off even bigger and more

important markets for us, " Bailey said.

 

Monsanto has been conducting field trials in western Canada to develop

GM " Roundup Ready " wheat for around three years. The plants are

genetically altered to be unaffected when the herbicide " Roundup " is

used on the fields to control weeds.

 

The U.S. agricultural sciences firm has said it will not move to

commercially release GM wheat until concerns about segregation and

market acceptance are fully addressed, although it still argues that GM

wheat will cut costs and increase yields by simplifying weed control.

 

The UK government has said it will decide whether GM crops should be

commercially grown in Britain once it has weighed up all the scientific

and economic evidence it has at its disposal, as well as the results of

a recent public consultation.

 

However, research papers published last month by scientists who carried

out the government's three-year-long GMO crop trials failed to show GMO

crops in a positive light, concluding that two crops were harmful to the

environment, while another was not.

 

And in two separate studies, UK researchers have found that bees

carrying GM rapeseed pollen had contaminated conventional plants more

than 26 kilometres (16 miles) away and that if farmers grew GM rapeseed

for one season, impurities could stay in the soil for up to 16 years if

not " rigorously controlled. "

 

Britain's public are also highly sceptical of GM crops.

 

There are no GM crops in the ground in the UK at present and no imminent

plantings.

 

Led by the U.S., GM crops are now grown in more than 16 countries

outside Europe.

 

In 2002, farmers around the world planted 60 million hectares of land

with GM crops.

 

11/03/03 14:20 ET

 

 

 

 

 

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