Fwd: FW: [Food-news] EU Awaits WTO Ruling on GMOs

[Guest guest]

> www.foodnews.ca

>

> Editor's Note: Again, Argentina, Canada and the US

> have challenged the EU

> at the WTO over genetically modified organisms and

> the ruling is expected

> this week. Although the EU lifted their moratorium

> on GMOs in 2004, claims

> continue, insisting that EU approval processes is

> not sufficiently based

> on science. This week's ruling will likely be

> unfavourable towards the EU.

> Some suggest such a ruling will only strengthen

> opposition among the

> public to GM foods.

>

> www.planetark.com

>

> EU Braces for Landmark WTO Ruling on Biotech Ban

>

> BRUSSELS - The European Union could be forced to

> open itself to more

> genetically modified products this week when a world

> trade panel rules

> whether its strict policy on biotech foods and crops

> amounts to

> protectionism.

>

> Diplomats and industry watchers say the EU may come

> off worst in the case

> brought by Argentina, Canada and the United States,

> where they claim its

> unofficial 1998-2004 moratorium on GMO approvals

> hurt their exports and

> was not based on science.

>

> The World Trade Organization verdict, keenly awaited

> on Tuesday by the

> world's biotech industry which would like to ship

> far more GMO’s to

> Europe, is expected to run to some 800 pages.

>

> Already delayed several times, the ruling may be the

> WTO's longest and

> certainly one of the most complex to decipher.

>

> Europe's shoppers are known for their wariness

> towards GMO products, often

> dubbed as " Frankenstein foods " . Opposition is

> estimated at more than 70

> percent, a stark contrast to the United States where

> they are far more

> widely accepted.

>

> US farmers say the EU ban cost them some $300

> million a year in lost sales

> while it was in effect since many US agricultural

> products, including most

> US corn, were effectively barred from entering EU

> markets.

>

> Despite the moratorium ending in May 2004 with a

> rubberstamp EU approval

> of a canned modified sweetcorn, plus a trickle of

> authorisations since

> then, the three complainants say Europe's biotech

> approvals process is

> still not working properly.

>

> EUROPE SCEPTICAL

>

> While the WTO is unlikely to issue a clear-cut

> condemnation of EU policy,

> it may well criticise areas like the string of

> national bans on specific

> GMO products in several EU countries.

>

> These products had already won EU-wide approval but

> several governments

> used a legal exemption clause to enact national bans

> - a particular

> annoyance for the three complainants and

> specifically cited in their

> original WTO complaint in 2003.

>

> Most observers believe the EU will come in for

> criticism.

>

> " It's unlikely the WTO would tell the EU that it

> should be more

> restrictive on GMO’s, " one EU diplomat said.

> " Irrespective of the way the

> WTO rules, it will be a reminder that the EU has to

> make its decisions on

> the basis of evidence. "

>

> Green groups said the pressure of the WTO case was

> making Europe take a

> much more pro-active stance on GMO’s than warranted

> by its poor consumer

> demand for the foods. A ruling against Europe would

> merely increase that

> scepticism, they say.

>

> " Opposition to genetically modified foods is likely

> to increase if the WTO

> decides that European safeguards (national bans)

> should be sacrificed to

> benefit biotech corporations, " said Adrian Bebb, GMO

> Campaigner at Friends

> of the Earth Europe.

>

> " The WTO, the US administration and biotech firms

> should stop their

> bullying and let Europeans decide what food we eat. "

>

> TOUGH LAWS

>

> The European Commission, which administers and

> instigates legislation for

> the EU-25, says the EU has put in place tough but

> fair laws since 1998 to

> ensure a smooth approvals process, so there is no

> reason to change them -

> whatever the WTO says.

>

> It insists that the case is not about Europe's GMO

> policy as such but what

> happened between 1998 and 2004. All applications for

> GMO approvals will

> continue to be processed and approved on a

> case-by-case basis using

> scientific criteria, it says.

>

> " Whatever happens in the panel, our system aims to

> guarantee the unity of

> the internal market and complete safety for human

> health and the

> environment, " a Commission official said.

>

> Story by Jeremy Smith

>

> Story 7/2/2006

>

> Check out Planet Ark on the web at www.planetark.com

>

>

>

> WHO WE ARE: This e-mail service shares information

> to help more people

> discuss crucial policy issues affecting global food

> security. The service

> is managed by Amber McNair of the University of

> Toronto in partnership

> with the Centre for Urban Health Initiatives (CUHI)

> and Wayne Roberts of

> the Toronto Food Policy Council, in partnership with

> the Community Food

> Security Coalition, World Hunger Year, and

> International Partners for

> Sustainable Agriculture.

> Please help by sending information or names and

> e-mail addresses of

> co-workers who'd like to receive this service, to

> foodnews

>

> _____________

> food-news mailing list

> food-news

> http://list.web.net/lists/listinfo/food-news

>

>