February 20, 2008
EU grain organisations call for threshold for GM crops in place of zero tolerance
EU grain organisations are calling for thresholds for GM crop presence to be set up instead of the current zero tolerance towards GM shipments.
The European Grain Traders Association (COCERAL), the EU Oil and Proteinmeal Industry (FEDIOL) and the European Feed Manufacturers Federation (FEFAC) are now urgently calling upon the EU to establish a threshold as more of the world's producers plant GM crops.
Already in autumn 2008, possible trace level presence of new GM varieties in US soy (not yet authorized for import and processing in the EU) could lead to a halt in the crushing of US soy in Europe.
The situation would be worsened when new GM varieties are cultivated in South America, potentially leading to a stoppage of all soy crushing in Europe.
If that happens, the EU livestock sector will indeed suffer irreversible damage, with the loss of up to 44 percent of its poultry and 35 percent of its pig production according to the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG Agri). DG Agri is a Directorate-General of the European Commission, responsible for EU policies on agriculture.
Farmers have warned that Europe's livestock industry could be decimated without greater use of GM crops, after EU agriculture ministers failed yet again Monday to agree whether to allow imports of five biotech crops intended for animal feed, The Financial Times reported.
Copa-Cogeca, which represents the EU's farmers, said that with feed prices rising and suppliers in the Americas increasingly planting GM seeds, the industry faced ruin without a speedier approval process. Approvals must first go to national governments, which rarely agree.
"It takes two to four years to approve a GM crop in Europe, 15 months in the US, a Copa-Cogeca spokesman said.
Pig rearers are already struggling, he said. Feed costs have risen by 50 percent but prices have fallen 8 percent. Without help - including export refunds and subsidised storage - up to a fifth of producers could give up by the end of the year.
David Hill, of the EU biotech farmers' network, said there were 18 crops awaiting approval for cultivation and 49 for import, and farmers were frustrated by the delay.
The latest ISAAA report on the GM production area shows the increasing popularity of the cultivation of biotech crops for farmers around the world. As compared to last year, GM plantings increased by 12 percent in 2007 and, in some cases, represent up to 90 percent of total crops.
DG AGRI said the long approval processes in the EU represent a serious threat to the European food and feed industry.