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wednesday 19th may
2004
GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS IN
EUROPE:
POLITICIANS SAY YES - PUBLIC SAYS
NO!
Brussels, Belgium, May 19, 2004 - Today's
approval of the first new genetically
modified (GM) food in Europe for over five
years will only harden consumer resistance
says Friends of the Earth International, the
world's largest grassroots environmental
network.
The group heavily criticised the European
Commission [1] for approving the import of a
controversial GM sweet-corn without the
support of the European Union (EU) member
states who remain deeply divided over its
safety.
The maize, developed by Swiss-based
Syngenta, has been engineered to include a
deadly insecticide. The European approval is
only for food and animal feed imports and not
for growing in the EU.
However Friends of the Earth claim that
with opposition so high there is little
future for GM food and crops in Europe.
Consumers say no:
There is virtually no market for GM foods
in Europe as consumers have overwhelmingly
rejected them. New EU labelling and
traceability regulations came into force on
April 18th giving consumers better
information to decide. Official opinion polls
show that 94.6% of EU citizens want the right
to choose and 70.9% simply do not want GM
food.[2]
GM-Free Regions:
Initiatives to ban GM crops from being
grown have now started in at least 22
European countries with some regions
introducing their own legislation to ban the
crops. In France over 1200 municipalities
have issued GM free statements as well as 500
cities in Italy.
GM industry in
retreat:
The biotechnology industry sees no future
in Europe. Last week biotech giant Monsanto
withdrew their GM wheat after selling their
European cereal business last year. Last
month Bayer withdrew the only commercial crop
it had in the UK. The number of applications
to test GM crops outdoors in Europe have
reduced 80% since 1997.
Exports lost:
Countries that have planted GM crops on a
large scale have seen their exports to Europe
crash. Maize from the US to Europe has
declined from 3.3 million tonnes in 1995 to
just 25,000 tonnes in 2002. Canada has lost
all of its oilseed rape (canola) market to
Europe, worth an estimated $300 million.
[3]
Adrian Bebb, GM campaigner for
Friends of the Earth Europe
said:
"There is no future for genetically
modified foods or crops in Europe.
Politicians may be saying yes but the public
is clearly saying no. The European market is
virtually dead, regions are banning the
growing of GM crops and the industry is
packing up and leaving.
"The European Commission is gambling with
the health of consumers. Member states remain
divided over the long term safety of this GM
sweet corn, yet the Commission wants to force
it down our throats. But the public won't
swallow this. Hostility to GM food and crops
is likely to grow, and the publics confidence
in EU decision-making is likely to be
damaged," he added.
Friends of the Earth opposes the release
of GM crops into the environment but does not
oppose biotechnology in general.
Notes to Editors
[1] The Commission is the executive arm of
the European Union.
[2]
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/research/press/2001/pr0612en-report.pdf
[3] European Commission regrets US
decision, Press release, European Commission
13 May 2003
A briefing of the GM situation in Europe
can be found at http:
//www.foeeurope.org
for more contact info:
Niccolo Sarno, Media Coordinator, Friends
of the Earth International Tel: + 31 20
6221369
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