October 19, 2009

                    
EU farm commissioner calls for quick GM crop decision
                             


Europe's agriculture commission Mariann Fischer Boel has urged member states to put an end to the delay for GM crop approvals.

 

The solution to the thorny issue of biotech crops should be based on science instead of prejudice, according to the commissioner.

 

Courage and sensible decisions are needed to decide the best practice, and animal feed imports that contain trace amounts of GM varieties cleared by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) should be allowed into Europe, she said.

 

European importers are facing increasing problems and costs in securing non-GM soy and corn for feed stock, as grain producers worldwide are switching from conventional crops to biotech varieties approved elsewhere but the EU.

 

The EU's zero-tolerance policy has blocked hundreds of thousands of tonnes of feed, leading to feed price increases. In many instances, the contamination is below 0.1 percent of the total cargo.

 

Unless the matter is resolved, the livestock sector will face a financial disaster and consumers would have to ironically consume meat imported from countries where animals are fed GM crops, said Fischer Boel.

 

She said while there was no question of Europe ending its zero-tolerance policy, there was a need to consider technical contamination thresholds for imported feed and use the existing GM system in a more rational way.

 

The bloc must push ahead with its discussions on how to deal with very small but unwanted traces of GM that are found in shipments as soon as possible, she said.

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