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EU capitulates on biotech corn (Sunday, May 16, 2004 -- CropChoice news) -- Wired.com, 05/14/04: BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union's head office said Friday it would approve a type of genetically modified corn for human consumption, ending a
six-year biotech moratorium that the United States has challenged at the
World Trade Organization.
European farmers will still be prohibited from growing the Bt11
insect-resistant corn, however. And companies trying to import such foods
face an uphill battle in convincing European shoppers that the products are
safe.
Today's the Day. Under new EU rules that took effect last month, "any
import of canned vegetables will have to show clearly on the label in the
list of ingredients that the corn has been harvested from a genetically
modified plant," European Commission spokesman Reijo Kemppinen said.
That would likely be the kiss of death for any company that tried to sell it
in Europe, where genetically modified foods are widely mistrusted and
avoided. Many supermarket chains require suppliers to guarantee their
products are biotech-free.
A U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity in Brussels called the
commission's announcement sign of progress but said Washington would press
ahead in seeking to have the EU declared in violation of international trade
rules.
The industry trade group EuropaBio welcomed the announcement as a "step
forward," although a spokesman conceded the corn was unlikely to hit store
shelves anytime soon.
Opposition remains fierce despite the enactment last year of a new approval
process and the labeling requirements, considered to be the most stringent
in the world.
"If the commission decides to force this down our throats, then they can
only expect the public's confidence in (genetically modified) foods to sink
even further," said Adrian Bebb, anti-biotech campaigner at Friends of the
Earth Europe.
The commission announced its intention to lift the ban last month after EU
governments failed to agree on Bt11, the first application submitted under
the new rules. The strain was developed by Switzerland-based Syngenta.
Kemppinen said the commission would approve the sale for human
consumption -- canned or fresh -- at its meeting Wednesday, under provisions
that authorize the EU executive to decide if member governments cannot
agree.
Cultivation by farmers would still be forbidden, although an application is
pending.
The decision will be valid in all 25 EU countries for 10 years, he said.
The EU has been under pressure from the Bush administration and other major
agricultural exporters to lift the ban, which they charge is unscientific
and thus illegal under WTO rules.
Bt11 was considered an easy test for the EU, since it had been approved for
other uses -- animal feed and for human consumption of derivatives such as
corn oil and syrup -- before the EU halted its approval process in 1998.
But last month, France, Portugal, Austria, Luxembourg, Greece and Denmark
continued to oppose the application. Spain, Belgium and Germany abstained,
while Italy, Britain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden and Finland voted to
approve it.
The executive commission has long urged an end to the moratorium, insisting
the new traceability and labeling rules provide adequate protection for
consumers.
It also worried failure to restart the approval process would undermine its
chances for defending itself at the WTO. The Bush administration also
opposes the labeling and traceability rules, which it says are unworkable,
costly and subject to abuse.
U.S. corn exports to Europe plummeted from 3.3 million tons in 1995 to just
25,000 tons in 2002, costing U.S. farmers an estimated $300 million annually
in lost exports.
Bt11 is the first of some 34 applications to start working its way through
the new approval process, but EU governments have deadlocked on each one
considered so far.
Source: http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,63465,00.html | |
