January 18, 2008
Source:
CORDIS news
Over 300 scientists and green
lobby groups in Spain have signed a petition calling on their
government to ban the cultivation of genetically modified
organisms (GMOs).
The signatories, made up of scientists from Spanish universities
and research centres, including the Spanish National Research
Council (CSIC), and green groups, denounced the 'dangers and
impacts of the introduction [of GM crops] into the environment
and on our plates' and demanded that the Spanish government
adopt measures to eradicate the cultures on its territory.
'This is a technology that is destroying biodiversity and was a
by-product of the military industry. It is lamentable that Spain
is acting as a vector for introducing these cultures into Europe
when it is a country rich in biodiversity,' Eugenio Reyes, a
researcher at the Botanical Garden of Las Palmas in Gran
Canaria, told El Mundo newspaper.
Spain currently grows 75,000 hectares of genetically modified
organisms (GMOs), making it Europe's largest grower in Europe,
followed by France with 22,000 hectares.
The petition comes only days after France decided to invoke an
EU safeguard clause to bar a strain of GM maize after a watchdog
said it had doubts about the product.
The crop in question, MON 810, is a variety of maize developed
by US biotech giant Monsanto. The strain has had its genome
modified to contain a gene that produces a toxin allowing it to
defend itself against the corn borer, which regularly destroys
maize harvests around Europe.
The decision came after France's provisional High Authority on
GMOs presented the conclusions of its study on the effect of the
MON 810 crop on health and the environment. The committee,
composed of 15 scientific experts, announced that it had
'serious doubts' about GM crops following its discovery of 'new
scientific facts relating to a negative impact on flora and
fauna'.
These 'new scientific facts' included cross-pollination of GM
and non-GM fields at local level and negative effects on
insects, a species of earthworm and micro-organisms.
However, the next day saw 12 of the High Authority's 15
scientists disagree with the Authority's conclusions, saying
they never found evidence for serious doubts or negative
consequences concerning GM crops and thus criticised the way the
conclusions were worded.
Under EU law, the Commission has 60 days to decide on the
validity of the new scientific evidence discovered by the French
committee on GMOs. If the Commission does not consider the
evidence produced to be valid, it can force the country to lift
its ban, unless a qualified majority against such a decision is
reached in the Council of Ministers.
Austria, Germany and Poland have previously invoked the
safeguard clause without success, as the Commission has never
substantiated their applications. Moreover, EU environment
ministers have repeatedly failed to reach a qualified majority
for or against the Commission's proposals to lift the national
bans.
In October 2007, Portuguese Environment Minister Francisco Nunes
Correia said that a majority of Member States oppose the
Commission forcing them to lift such bans. He added that 'the
Commission proposal still prevails against the explicit will of
one Member State and that is something that has to give us a
pause for thought.'
The next step will be for all the Commissioners to debate GMOs
in early February 2008 to clarify the EU's policy position on
the issue.
For further information, please visit:
http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biotechnology/strategy/index_en.htm
http://www.ogm.gouv.fr/ |
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