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Although agriculture in Germany is
highly industrialized, organic
farming is becoming more and more
popular. Organic farming has many
positive effects. It reduces
chemicals in the environment,
produces healthier food, provides a
more diverse landscape, and
contributes to greater biodiversity.
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
have the opposite impact. They are
planted in large-scale monocultures,
threaten animal and plant diversity,
and could cause health problems. GMOs
are thus incompatible with organic
farming.
Until very recently, the European
Union has managed to remain largely
free of GMOs, thanks to overwhelming
public rejection. But trade rules now
threaten to overturn this state of
affairs, and may soon impose GMOs on
people across Europe. This would be a
major setback for organic farming
since organic products must be
demonstrably GMfree, and would
certainly set back efforts to
strengthen sustainable agriculture in
Germany and the rest of Europe.
forcing gmos down european
throats
In May 2003, the US , Canada and
Argentina submitted an official
complaint to the WTO challenging
European policy on GMOs. This was the
start of a complicated and highly
controversial trade dispute that is
due to end in 2006. The three
plaintiff countries argue that the
EU's refusal to accept any
application of new GMOs since 1998,
combined with EU member states'
ability to impose national bans on
GMOs, conflicts with WTO rules. They
are defending the export interests of
huge biotech corporations, such as
the USbased Monsanto, by attempting
to use WTO rules to force Europeans
to grow and eat GMOs.
While this trade dispute
continues, farmers and consumers in
Europe face another threat. A few
years ago, the EU passed a directive
allowing the production and sale of
GMOs as long as they are clearly
labelled. The underlying idea is to
give consumers the choice between GM
and non-GM food. This is problematic,
however, since GM pollen can be blown
onto organic farms up to 25
kilometres away. Thus ‘co-existence'
can only work if large buffer zones
are placed between GM and organic
farms. This is why Friends of the
Earth Germany is campaigning together
with other organizations to establish
‘GMO-free zones' throughout the
country. To date, more than 16,000
German farmers have declared their
fields ‘GM free'.
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