September 25, 2007

 

ASA welcomes EU's positive response on GM soy

 

 

The American Soy Association (ASA) lauded the positive opinion of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on the LibertyLink® soy (A2704-12) from Bayer CropScience.

 

This is a critical regulatory milestone in the European Union (EU) approval process that moves closer the commercialization of an additional biotech-enhanced soy seed trait for US producers.

 

Soy account for nearly 70 percent of the world¡¯s protein meal consumption, and 30 percent of the edible fats and oils consumed worldwide.

 

The European Union (EU) imports about 95 percent of the whole soy processed in the EU and about 70 percent of the soy protein meal consumed in the EU.

 

Soy protein meal is an important part of poultry, swine and other livestock feeds in addition to soy having numerous other consumer and industrial uses.

 

The first biotech-enhanced soy seed was commercialised more than a decade ago.

 

With about 91 percent of the soy planted in the United States this year being grown from Roundup Ready seed varieties, herbicide tolerant seeds have become a standard in US farmer management systems to control weeds that compete with crops for light, water, and nutrients.

 

The LibertyLink trait is resistant to Liberty®, a postemergence contact herbicide that controls grass and broadleaf weeds, and will provide a new in-crop herbicide option for soy growers.

 

The availability of a seed variety that tolerates a different herbicide will promote market competition and provide an additional in-crop weed control option that can be an effective management tool to minimize the selection for herbicide resistant weeds and enhance the sustainability of US soy production, according to ASA president John Hoffman.

 

He said herbicide-tolerant soy provide farmers with an unprecedented weed management tool, which has led to increased conservation tillage practices that reduce production costs, lower fuel consumption, reduce run-off, and save irreplaceable top soil.

 

LibertyLink soy is fully approved for food, feed and cultivation in the United States and Canada.

 

The ASA has been consulting closely with Bayer CropScience to ensure that regulatory approvals also are being sought in all major soy export markets that have biotech regulatory approval processes.

 

To date, LibertyLink soy are fully approved for importation into Australia, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Taiwan and South Africa, and for food use in Russia.

 

Bayer CropScience expects to receive full import approvals in the EU, China and other key export countries prior to the planned commercialization in 2009.