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Half of Europe opts out of new GM crop scheme
Bid for exclusion by 14 countries and three regions would make two-thirds of Europe’s population and arable land GM-free
An advert warning against genetically modified food at a subway station in Paris. Photograph: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images
Half of the European Union’s 28 countries and three of its regions have opted out of a new GM crop scheme, in a blow to biotech industry hopes.
Under new EU rules agreed in March, 15 countries have now told Brussels they will send territorial exclusion requests to the big agricultural multinationals including Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta and Pioneer.
Applications from Latvia and Greece have already been accepted by the firms and if that pattern is extended, around two-thirds of of the EU’s population – and of its arable land – will be GM-free.
Industry sources warned that Europe could soon become a “graveyard” for biotech products but environmentalists hailed the news.
“A growing number of governments are rejecting the commission’s drive for GM crop approvals,” said Greenpeace’s EU food policy director Franziska Achterberg. “They don’t trust EU safety assessments and are rightly taking action to protect their agriculture and food. The only way to restore trust in the EU system now is for the commission to hit the pause button on GM crop approvals and to urgently reform safety testing and the approval system.”
Philosophers stone – selected views from the boat http://philosophers-stone.co.uk
Source: http://www.philosophers-stone.co.uk/?p=3859
