GM Soy to Be Banned - Vesna Peric Zimonjic - Inter Press Service, December 19 2006 - http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35903
BELGRADE, Dec. 19 (IPS) - Environmentalists in Romania have secured a victory in getting genetically modified (GM) soy finally banned. "Romania was the biggest producer of GM (genetically modified) soy in Europe after it began growing it without any control a decade ago," Greenpeace coordinator Gabriel Paun told IPS on phone from Bucharest. "This is to be stopped by January, which is another victory for us." Romania, together with neighbouring Bulgaria, is joining the European Union (EU) Jan. 1. It had therefore to comply with strict regulation dealing with GM organisms, unwelcome by most environmentally conscious nations.
GM crops crept into the country a decade ago, bringing at least 130,000 hectares under modified soybean cultivation. Environmentalists rank Romania 11th among producers of GM crops. Unrestrained production of GM crops has endangered prospects of agriculture exports. Such agricultural produce, often described as "contaminated", cannot reach strictly regulated markets.
"This victory (on ban on GM soy planting) represents a great challenge for us," Paun said. "We plan to broaden the action to other EU countries such as Austria, Greece and Poland." Cultivation of GM soy in Romania included 25,000 hectares in the area of the Danube Delta, one of the largest wetlands on the planet. This area is home to at least 1,689 plant species and 3,448 species of fauna, in a unique "natural museum" of biodiversity.
GM crops, or "genetically modified organisms (GMOs)" as many experts like to call them, went into mass cultivation about ten years ago. They were at first regarded as a salvation to feed the poor. Due to laboratory-implanted characteristics at the genetic level, they gave unexpectedly high yields, were immune to the usual plant diseases, and needed little care in general. What was little known at first was that GMOs tend to make land infertile, and cannot reproduce. "It's unclear if GM crops are a danger by themselves, but they release certain substances that stimulate growth of undesired micro-organisms," expert on GM crops Mirjana Nikolic told IPS. "Due to the presence of those micro-organisms, the land can become infertile after one season in some cases." Nikolic took part in a large operation two years ago to discover fields in Serbia where smuggled GM soybeans had been planted. The operation involved police action and led to the burning down of plants on 1,000 hectares in the northern province Vojvodina. It was established then that the GM seeds had been smuggled from neighbouring Romania.
Romanian environmentalists say the most popular GM crops in the region for some time have been soybeans and maize, and also genetically modified plum trees. In August this year Greenpeace uncovered illegal experiments in plantation of such plum trees at a research and development centre in Bistri in Romania. "These new findings once more revealed that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are totally out of control in Romania and that the research stations in Romania are playing grounds for the industry," Paun said. The plantations were destroyed, and no licence for further work was approved to project leaders, he said. GM plum trees pose a serious risk to human health because they contain a gene that is resistant to antibiotics.
Romania began some action against GM soy in February this year. It ordered cuts in the production of GM herbicide resistant soybeans, of which the EU does not approve, and introduced a monitoring and control system for GM crops. But many farmers prefer genetically engineered crops, because they mean no more fighting with weeds or bugs. Cultivation of resistant crops eases the job of combating pests of all kinds. A black market in GM seeds was flourishing in Romania for years "but things are to be improved now," Paun said. Environmentalist Dragos Dima recently told Romanian media that it will take many years to "put the agricultural house in order." Dima said "the country will have to decontaminate itself from unapproved GM varieties and put in place working systems on the release of GM organisms and on food labelling." Romania, he said, may become a test case "whether GM crop-plant decontamination is possible at all."
The complete ban now on production of GM crops is a victory for campaigners. This decision follows the victory of Romanian environmentalists, local Greenpeace among them, in securing suspension of construction of the controversial Road 66a earlier this month. The road would gravely endanger the untouched nature reserves of Retezat and Domogled parks.
Austria allowed to keep its ban on GM corn - By Andrew Bounds in Brussels - December 19 2006
A US trade victory over the European Union's import regime for genetically modified crops looked hollow last night as Austria retained its right to ban the growing of bio-engineered corn. Environment ministers yesterday threw out a European Commission proposal to force Austria to lift the bans it imposed on two authorised GM maize varieties in 1999 and 2000. They had rejected the move in 2004 but Brussels hoped that a World Trade Organisation ruling this year that the ban was illegal would tip the argument in its favour and retabled the proposal. However, in a sign of how sensitive the issue remains for European consumers, only the UK, Netherlands, Czech Republic and Sweden among the EU's 25 member states backed it. "The Commission will now have to carefully consider the legal and scientific bases that would underpin any further proposals," a spokeswoman said yesterday. It may now have to legislate.
Another case against Hungary will almost certainly be rejected by ministers next month. Greece also bans genetically modified crops. The European Food Safety Authority ruled in March 2006 there was no health risk from T25, created by Bayer of Germany, or MON810, from US company Monsanto. However, Austria pointed to the United Nation's Biosafety Protocol, which allows countries to ban genetically modified crops if there is a lack of scientific certainty over their safety. The WTO disregarded the treaty because the complainants - the US, Canada and Argentina - had not ratified it, and found against Austria because it had not conducted a proper risk assessment.
Helen Holder, of Friends of the Earth Europe, said: "Today's vote was a complete rejection of the WTO's ruling on GM foods. This is a major defeat for the biotech industry and their friends in the European Commission. "Every country must have the democratic right to protect its citizens and environment."
The Financial Times Limited 2006
EU upholds Austria's sovereign right to ban GMOs - By Jeremy Smith - 19 Dec 2006
http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=news&doc_id=14091&start=1&control=207&page_start=1&page_nr=101&pg=1
BRUSSELS - EU ministers slapped down an attempt on Monday to order Austria to drop its bans on two genetically modified (GMO) maize types, delivering a second stinging rebuff to the EU's executive European Commission. Between 1997 and 2000, five EU countries banned specific GMOs on their territory, focusing on three maize and two rapeseed types approved shortly before the start of the EU's six-year moratorium on new biotech authorisations. The Commission's draft order, proposed in response to a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling that attacked the various so-called national GMO safeguards for breaking international trade rules, was roundly rejected by EU environment ministers.
Only four countries supported the Commission in its attempt to overturn Austria's ban: Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. Austria has banned two GMO maize types, one in 1997 and the other in 1999. The first ban was against MON 810 maize made by U.S. biotech giant Monsanto (MON.N) and the second against T25 maize made by German drugs and chemicals group Bayer (BAYG.DE).
In June 2005, the Commission also tried to get the bans scrapped. EUenvironment ministers rejected the proposals then as well. Observers say the Commission's latest attempt to overturn the Austrian ban was meant to demonstrate to the complainants in the WTO case - Argentina, Canada and the United States - that it was taking action to facilitate more GMO approvals. But for many years, little has changed in the split of opinion on biotech policy among the EU's governments, which are consistently unable to secure the weighted majority that is legally required to vote through a new GMO approval. European consumers are well known for their antipathy towards GMO foods but the biotech industry insists its products are safe and no different to conventional foods. Europe's hostility to GMO foods is unfounded, it says.
Problems at WTO?
The problem now for the Commission is to decide what to do next: it may decide to propose a similar order at a later date, or even the same one, or just quietly let the matter rest. Privately, Commission officials say the biggest worry is more pressure from the three WTO complainants over GMO approvals, or the two manufacturing companies themselves. "The Commission will have to consider very carefully the legal and scientific basis that would underpin any new proposals by us," EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said. Austria's Environment Minister Josef Proell was jubilant that the Commission's order was so comprehensively rejected, as were environment groups - who were quick to warn the Commission not to attempt similar action against other EU countries. "This is a very strong signal by the Environment Council (of ministers) for the Commission to reassess its policy," he said. "The Commission could save itself a lot of humiliation like today if they would provide for a common (EU legal) basis for coexistence, for example," he said, referring to rules for how farmers should separate organic, traditional and GMO crops. At present, the EU has only a set of non-binding guidelines for crop coexistence. EU governments are supposed to draft their own rules and then submit them for the Commission's approval.
"EU environment ministers should be congratulated for defending the environment and consumer protection against U.S. trade interests and commercial pressure," said Martina Holbach, GMO policy adviser at Greenpeace's European unit. "It is time the Commission did the same - it has been served a second slap in the face today and should drop plans to pursue similar action against Greece and Hungary unless it wants further humiliation," she said in a statement.
© Reuters 2006
EU VOTES TO DEFY WTO RULING ON GM FOODS - Friends of the Earth Europe - 18th December 2006
Member States support the right to ban GMOs
Brussels, 18 December - Friends of the Earth Europe has welcomed today's rejection by EU Environment Ministers of a proposal to force Austria to lift its bans on genetically modified (GM) foods and crops. [1] The proposal was tabled by the European Commission in response to a ruling by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) earlier this year, which stated that the bans broke international trade laws.
Helen Holder, GMO Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe said: "Today's vote was a complete rejection of the WTO's ruling on GM foods. This is a major defeat for the biotech industry and their friends in the European Commission. Every country must have the democratic right to protect its citizens and environment. Neither the European Commission nor the WTO should be allowed to force Europeans to eat genetically modified foods." "The biotech industry's tactics have backfired. It's now time for the European Commission to put the interests of the public and the environment before those of the biotech industry."
The WTO ruling did not rule against GMO bans per se but judged that Austria had not followed the risk assessments needed under the trade-friendly WTO rules. Austria, together with all EU member states, has ratified the UN's Biosafety Protocol which allows countries to ban genetically modified crops if there is a lack of scientific certainty over their safety. The WTO disregarded the Biosafety Protocol because the complainants in the trade dispute (the US, Canada and Argentina) had not ratified it.
For more information, please contact:
Helen Holder, GM Campainger at Friends of the Earth Europe: Tel : +32 2 542 0182, Mobile +32 474 857 638, Email: helen.holder@foeeurope.org
Adrian Bebb, GM Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe: Mobile : +49 1609 4901163, Email: adrian.bebb@foeeurope.org
Rosemary Hall, Communications Officer at Friends of the Earth Europe: Tel:+32 25 42 61 05, Mobile: +32 485 930515, Email: rosemary.hall@foeeurope.org
NOTES:
[1] Today (18th December), Environment Ministers met at an Environment Council meeting in Brussels and discussed a proposal from the European Commission to force Austria to drop its ban on two genetically modified (GM) maizes. The Austrian ban on the two maizes - one by Bayer and one by Monsanto - has been in place since June 1999. All countries rejected the proposal apart from the UK, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Sweden.
County Kildare becomes GMO-free zone - Cross-party support for local farmers and food producers - GM-free Ireland press release, 24 October 2006
http://www.gmfreeireland.org/press/GMFI31.pdf
DUBLIN, 24 October 2006 - Kildare County Council became the ninth county on the island of Ireland to declare itself a GMO-free zone [1]. The decision was taken by the elected County Councillors at a meeting yesterday. The Motion states "that this County Council takes all possible measures necessary to promote and maintain Kildare as a genetically modified crop-free zone, in order to protect the interests of farmers and to encourage development of our valuable agricultural industry". The motion was tabled by Mary Glennon, Independent Councillor for the Naas area, and was passed unanimously by elected representatives from all the political parties, with two abstentions. Cllr. Glennon said "The economic value of Kildare's bloodstock, farm, food and tourist sectors have great economic importance and must be protected from any contamination by GM crops [2]. Our alarm bells went off when the world largest chemicals company, BASF, attempted to conduct an experiment with 450,000 GMO potatoes in Co. Meath earlier this year. We are absolutely delighted at the cross-party support for this motion to protect current and future generations of farmers and consumers from the threat of GM crops in Co. Kildare." BASF's attempt to release the GMO potatoes led to massive opposition including a ban on GM crops in Co. Meath [3].
Eddie Punch, General Secretary of the Irish Cattle and Sheepfarmers Association (ICSA) said he welcomed Kildare's GMO-free regulation as a pragmatic response to the future of conventional agriculture in the area. "If Irish farmers are to compete, the secret must be to be able to differentiate our product - to sell a different product which has specific characteristics that are attractive to the people that want them. The vast majority of EU consumers do not want to eat food containing GM ingredients. The whole island of Ireland should become a GMO-free zone, in order to supply the consumers of Europe with the GM-free product they desire." [4] A spokesperson from the Kildare branch of the Irish Farmers Association said the local IFA was also pleased by the motion. Chef Olivier Pauloin-Valory, from Les Olives restaurant in Naas, said "This is a delicious decision. As a member of Euro-toques, which represents Europe's 3,000 leading chefs, I refuse to serve any GM food to my customers. The future of the restaurant business in this country depends on keeping our food safe and free of all GM ingredients." [5].
A survey of tourists visiting this country now underway by Fáilte Ireland found that 92 per cent of foreign visitors perceive Ireland as a "clean green" destination, 62 per cent associate Irish food products with natural and local production, and 46 per cent have negative perceptions of GM crops. Local organic farmer Nick Cullen, from Ballysax, who suggested the motion to Kildare Co. Council, said the GMO free motion will help protect his constitutional right to earn a livelihood, because he would be forced out of business if his crops became contaminated by GM pollen if anyone was stupid enough to try growing GM crops nearby [6]. Mr. Cullen also arranged for local landowners to place GMO-free zone signs along the main access road to the recent Ryder Cup which brought thousands of foreign visitors to Kildare last month [7].
Kildare Co. Council's decision came as EU member states voted yesterday to require mandatory testing of all rice imports from the United States for genetically modified material before allowing them to enter the EU. Illegal GM rice which escaped from open air field trials six years ago has since been found to have contaminated food supplies in 15 EU countries, Russia, Japan and the Middle East, leading to a collapse of American rice prices on the commodity markets, a virtual shut down of US rice exports to the EU, and massive economic losses for contaminated farmers and food exporters in the USA. [8]
Eight European countries have total or near total bans on GM seeds and crops and livestock, as do 175 regional governments, 3,500 local authorities and 1,000 smaller areas across 22 EU member states. These include most of Britain's Celtic fringe from the Highlands of Scotland through Wales and Cornwall. [9] Unlike most EU countries, the Irish and UK governments still do not recognise the right of Local Authorities to prohibit GMO crops, and are poised to allow their "co-existence" with conventional and organic farming on this island following public consultations that have been described as totally undemocratic by stakeholder groups in Ireland and the UK [10]. Evidence from contamination incidents in 40 countries shows that "co-existence" inevitably leads to contamination [11]. GM crops can not be recalled after their release, and according to the official EU report on the subject, they may cause up to 40% higher production costs for EU farmers. [12] Moreover there is no market for GM-labelled food in Europe [13].
GM-free Ireland Network spokesman Michael O'Callaghan said that since our governments are failing in their duty to protect our security from the economic, health and environmental threats of GM food and farming, it is imperative for County and Town Councils North and South of the border to specifically prohibit the release of any GMO seeds, crops, trees, fish and livestock in their areas as soon as possible [14]. GM-free Ireland also advises Local Authorities to join the Assembly of European Regions to empower the latter to lobby on their behalf for a new EU Directive that recognises the democratic legal right of local areas to have the final say on whether to allow GM crops in their areas [15]. "Ireland's best economic interest is to declare the whole of this island a GMO-free zone" he said, "but since this government is in bed with the WTO and the agbiotech corporations on this issue, its up to citizens and their local elected representatives to take the lead at the County level to protect the interests of our farmers and consumers."
Contact: Michael O'Callaghan, Coordinator, GM-free Ireland Network, Tel: + 353 (0)404 43885, Mobile: + 353 (0)87 799 4761
Email: mail@gmfreeireland.org Web: www.gmfreeireland.org
Notes to editors:
1. Irish GMO-free zones now include 9 counties (Cavan, Clare, Fermanagh, Kildare, Kerry, Meath, Roscommon, Monaghan, and Westmeath), 9 towns (Bantry, Bray, Derry, Galway City, Letterkenny, Navan, Newry, Mourne, & Clonakilty) and 1,000 smaller areas. See detailed national and county maps at http://www.gmfreeireland.org/map.
2. See proceedings of the Green Ireland Conference on branding for food, farming and tourism at http://www.gmfreeireland.org/conference.
3. See http://www.gmfreeireland.org/potato. The world's largest chemicals company BASF gave up its plans for a controversial patented GMO potato experiment in Co. Meath this year, and may cancel it altogether. BASF said it made the decision because of the conditions imposed in the provisional consent given by the Environmental Protection Agency on 8 May. These included obligations for the company to reduce the risk of cross-contamination of neighbouring farmers and wildlife, and to pay the costs of an independent monitoring of health and environmental impacts. BASF complained that such conditions had not been imposed for similar experiments in Sweden. Days later, BASF CEO Hans Kast, who also chairs the biotech lobby Europa-Bio, announced that all the European countries which oppose GM food and crops should "get out of the EU"! The cancellation may also have been influenced by nationwide opposition from more than 100 farm and food industry groups, resistance by TDs from all the parties, two motions passed unanimously by Meath Co. Council, and the threat of further legal action on planning and constitutional grounds.
4. ICSA is the first Irish conventional farmers group with a clearly defined policy to conserve Ireland's GM-free farming status. The speech by Eddie Punch at the Green Ireland Conference should be mandatory reading for all Irish farmers and food producers concerned about the competitive advantage of Ireland's green image, and the undemocratic way that farm policies are being determined by bureaucrats in the European Commission and the World Trade Organisation. See http://www.gmfreeireland.org/conference/trans/epunch.php.
5. See Euro-Toques Ireland web site: http://www.eurotoquesirl.org.
6. EU and Irish laws forbid organic farmers and food producers from using any GM ingredients.
7. See "Organic farmer seeking to raise awareness of dangers of GM food", Leinster Leader, 5 October 2006.
8. Friends of the Earth Europe has published information online about all the reported rice contamination cases over the last two months: http://www.foeeurope.org/GMOs/rice_contamination.htm.
See also GM-free Ireland press releases for September / October 2006 at http://www.gmfreeireland.org/press.
9. For maps and details of GMO-free zones in Europe see http://www.gmofree-europe.org.
10. For details of Irish plans for "co-existence" of GM crops see http://www.gmfreeireland.org/coexistence.
11. See the international GM Contamination Register at http://www.gmcontaminationregister.org.
See also "Impossible coexistence: Seven years of GMOs have contaminated organic and conventional maize: an examination of the cases in Catalonia and Aragon". Published by Greenpeace International, 4 April 2006 (928 KB PDF file): http://www.gmreeireland.org/coexistence/Greenpeace/impossible-coexistence.pdf
12. "Scenarios for co-existence of genetically modified, conventional and organic crops in European agriculture" published by the European Commission Joint Research Centre, May 2002. Download as 1 MB PDF file: http://www.gmfreeireland.org/downloads/gmcrops_coexistence.pdf
(Note that Ireland's former Chief Scientific Officer "Dr." Barry McSweeney, was accused by Greenpeace of attempting to suppress the publication of this report because of its disappointing conclusions for the biotech industry, whilst he was CEO of the Joint Research Centre.)
13. "No Market for GM-labelled Food in Europe", Greenpeace, January 2005. This detailed report shows that the EU market for GM labelled food products is virtually closed. Europe's top 30 retailers and top 30 food & drink producers have policies and non-GM commitments which reveal a massive international food industry rejection of GM ingredients. This cuts across the industry from food and drink manufacturers to retailers, and includes everything from snacks and ready meals to pet food and beer. The combined total food and drink sales of the 49 companies with a stated non-GM policy in their main market or throughout the EU (27 retailers and 22 food and drink producers) amounts to - 646 billion, more than 60% of the total - 1,069 billion European food and drink sales. Irish food companies doing business internationally need to implement a non-GM policy without delay. Download report (2MB PDF file): http://www.gmfreeireland.org/downloads/NoMarketForGMFood.pdf.
14. The GM-free Ireland Network recommends that GMO-free zone motions by Irish County, City and Town Councils be worded as follows:
(a) to protect the interests of landowners, farmers, food producers, consumers and future generations by prohibiting the release of GMO seeds, crops, trees, insects, crustaceans, fish, poultry and livestock in [insert name of county];
(b) to exclude Local Authority funding for the procurement of food containing GM ingredients in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, canteens etc.; and
(c) to prevent the transportation, storage, and use of live GMO seeds, crops, trees, insects, crustaceans, fish, poultry and livestock on its land, water, and airspace (including GMO seeds and crops approved only for animal feed or biofuel).
Because the Government will dismiss such motions, also ask your County, Town council or Regional Authority to join the Assembly of European Regions (http://www.a-e-r.org) which will lobby on your behalf for a new EC Directive that recognises the democratic right of local authorities to have the final say on whether GM crops may be grown in their area.
15. The proposed EU Directive should also include strict liability provisions for GMO contamination, and take into account not only economic but also ecological aspects of growing GM crops. See the briefing "Time to change European policy on GMOs in agriculture" issued to the EC Commissioners on 17 March 2005 by the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), European Community of Consumer Cooperatives (EURO COOP), Friends of the Earth Europe (FOEE), Greenpeace European Unit, and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) EU Group. Download as 924K PDF file: http://www.gmfreeireland.org/coexistence/EU/BriefingGMOs_March05.pdf.
Lazio region GMO-free, Council approves law - 25 October 2006 - http://www.gmfreeireland.org/news/index.php
Agenzia Giornalistica Italia (AGI), 25 October 2005. Special service by AGI on behalf of the Italian Prime Minister's Office.
Rome, Oct 25 - The growing and breeding of any kind of genetically modified organisms (GMO) has been banned throughout the region. An analogous ban has been imposed also for the productive cycle of the feed and fodder for livestock. The failure to respect the regulations is to be punished with fines (up to 50,000 euros) and the companies' exclusion from the concession of regional contributions. It is on these points that the law passed today by the Lazio Regional Council, chaired by Massimo Pineschi, which imposed "urgent provisions on the subject of genetically modified organisms".
The law, approved with 37 votes in favour, two abstentions and no votes against, not only prescribes the suspension of contributions in the case of the use of genetically modified organisms, but also the revoking of previously conceded contributions and the returning of the sums paid. Companies using GM goods will be denied access to certificates of quality. The use of GM goods can only be authorised for experiments and with strict limitations. The law also established the regional GMO-Free certificate, in accordance with European and national laws on traceability and labelling of GMO goods.
The law also imposes strict regulations on the retailing of GMO goods, which must be sold in a clearly marked separate area to avoid confusing and mixing up GMO and non-GMO products. At the same time, it is forbidden to use GMO products in collective catering services at kindergartens, schools, hospitals, certified resting homes, regional offices, provincial offices and communal offices, or at their respective subsidiary organisations.
The Region supports research projects for non-GMO products and establishes a Committee for the protection of the agricultural production and biodiversity from the use of GMO. Supervision and checking responsibilities have been entrusted to Arsial and fines will be incurred by those who violate the laws. The introductory report was presented by assessor for Agriculture Daniela Valentini.
GM RICE LEGAL CHALLENGE ISSUED AGAINST FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY
Friends of the Earth Press Release - Friday 27 October 2006
Friends of the Earth has filed a legal challenge against the Food Standards Agency (FSA) over its failure to take necessary action to prevent UK consumers being exposed to illegal GM rice in their food. The action comes two months after it was revealed that an experimental and unapproved GM rice had contaminated food supplies in the US and been exported to the UK and Europe. The application for Judicial Review was filed with the High Court challenging the Food Standards Agency's response to the incident.
According to the Emergency Decision issued by the European Commission shortly after the contamination incident was announced, any long grain rice imported into the EU must be certified as free of the illegal rice (BayerCropScience's LL Rice 601) [1]. Furthermore, member states must test rice products already on the market to make sure the illegal variety is not present.
Friends of the Earth claims that the FSA:
* has failed to take actions necessary to comply with the requirements of the Emergency Decision to test rice already on the market in the UK;
* to investigate or take enforcement action;
* encouraged food businesses to carry on as normal and not to worry about taking steps to test their rice for contamination or to withdraw any contaminated rice that they found.
No strains of GM rice have been approved in Europe, and no GM rice varieties are being grown commercially anywhere in the world. However, experimental trials are being carried out in a number of countries, including the US. In August, US Authorities announced that the illegal LL Rice 601, grown experimentally from 1998-2001 had contaminated commercial long grain rice supplies. Since then, over 90 incidents of illegal GM rice contamination has been detected in 15 European countries[2]. In the UK illegal GM material has been detected in long grain rice from Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Somerfield and the Co-op.
Friends of the Earth's Head of Legal, Phil Michaels said: "The Food Standards Agency is not taking the UK's legal obligations seriously. It has failed to take necessary steps to verify that illegal GM rice is not on the market. It has effectively told business and local food authorities that no action is required. The Agency needs to take steps to check the food chain to ensure that this GM rice is not present and, where it is present, ensure that it is removed. It is failing to do so. Despite providing the FSA with repeated opportunities to reconsider its position it has failed to take the necessary steps. That is why Friends of the Earth feels it has no choice but to take urgent legal action."
On Monday, member states in the EU agreed to stricter measures requiring all long grain rice from the US to be re-tested at the point of entry into the EU, following a mix up where a number of consignments of rice that had entered Rotterdam port and were certified by the US as GM-free, were tested by Dutch authorities and subsequently found to be contaminated [3].
Notes:
[1] http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/1120&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
[2] http://www.foeeurope.org/GMOs/rice_contamination.htm
[3] GM rice: Standing Committee backs Commission Decision on strict counter testing of US rice imports:
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/middayExpressAction.do?date=25/10/2006&direction=0&guiLanguage=en
Romania Harvests Trouble with its GM Crops - by Christine Lescu - Balkan Insight, 18 October 2006 - http://www.birn.eu.com/insight_55_2_eng.php
With its slipshod standards on GM food production, Romania may find Europe closes door to its exports.
By Christine Lescu in Bucharest - [Lescu is a journalist for Radio Romania International, RRI]
Romania may find itself excluded from the European Union markets and even have difficulties selling its genetically modified products locally, because of delays in complying with European food traceability and labelling regulations. Experts say its increasing use of genetically modified crops also hinders organic agriculture, an area in which Romania has the potential to be competitive in the EU market.
After farmers this year cultivated almost 130,000 hectares of GM soybean, Romania became the single biggest producer of this product in Europe, according to Greenpeace. The environmentalist campaigning organisation in 2004 ranked Romania 11th in a table of the world's biggest producers of GM crops. A large percentage of the GM soybean crop was also planted with non-certified seed, meaning its origins cannot be identified or traced.
Bucharest has done too little, and too late, to address Europe's concerns about the kind of food coming out of Romania. In 2002, it adopted the first measures to regulate GM products, when it told manufacturers of GM products to declare this information on packages and labels. But results have been patchy. A poor level of compliance reflects the lack of interest in the subject felt by Romanian consumers - unlike the situation in Western Europe. Local consumer groups say few Romanians feel eating GM food products is risky. "If we avoided eating everything bad, we'd die of starvation" is shoppers' stock response.
In February this year, meanwhile, the government made further moves. Until then, cultivation of GM soybeans had been totally unregulated. Now the government is trying to bring food production standards into closer harmony with EU environmental rules. It has ordered cuts in the production of GM herbicide resistant soybeans, of which the EU does not approve, and introduced a monitoring and control system for GM crops. But so far there is little sign of progress with these initiatives either. This year the production of GM soybean increased - from about 65,000 to 130,000 hectares.
Experts say the authorities are unable to cope with the growth of illegally cultivated genetically-engineered crops. The problem is that farmers have strong incentives to grow GM soybeans. Normally, combating weeds and beetles is time consuming and expensive. With the cultivation of resistant varieties, they can combat pests more easily. The Garda Nationala de Mediu (National Environmental Guard), the body put in charge of monitoring compliance with the new rules, has handed out 23 warnings and imposed 15 fines this year. But it says tracking down all the culprits is hard.
Apart from dealing with known GM crop growers, the body is struggling to halt the activities of those who buy seeds from producers and sell them on. Florian Udrea, of the Garda Nationala, says checking this activity is an almost hopeless task. "Out of carelessness or ill will, some people don't declare where the seeds from their crops came from," he said. Some farmers keep quiet about their GM crops because they do not even know they have planted GM seeds. Cases of contamination of crops with GM varieties are frequent.
Agricultural consultant Dragos Dima says Romania will pay a price for failing to put in place effective systems to test and control soybean production from cultivation to consumption and monitor the presence of GM seed. "If Romania does not adopt the traceability and labeling measures required by the EU legislation, I am afraid that starting with 2007, all its products containing soybean will be restricted from entering EU markets," Dima told Balkan Insight. This is a serious threat to farmers, he added, as most food products contain at least traces of soybean. Romania could also find its access to structural funds for agricultural projects restricted.
In a few months, Romania is about to join a club that has strict standards on the GM issue and in which public opinion is on the alert. Several EU member states, including Germany and Austria, ban the cultivation and import of GM seeds outright. EU legislation does not ban GM products altogether but it insists on strict rules concerning the release of GM seeds into the environment and the traceability and labelling of Genetically Modified Organisims, GMOs, and GMOs in food and animal feed. Only seeds approved by the European Food Safety Authority may be traded within the EU. These tight European mechanisms reflect many scientists' continuing concerns about genetic modification. Some worry that GM organisms may yet have unforseeable and unpredictable consequences on the environment and on health. Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini, of the University of Caen, voiced some of those concerns, felt especially with regard to Romanian GM products, to Romanian public radio, RRI. "The soybeans grown in Romania are treated with a very powerful pesticide named 'Roundup Ready', which has toxic effects on human placenta and embryos," he said in a recent interview. "Roundup Ready is used to destroy weeds and parasites attacking soya crops but also destroys every other plant nearby, damaging the environment.....Roundup Ready genetically engineered soya is not approved for growing in the EU."
Dragos Dima says it may take Romania many years to put its agricultural house in order. "The country will have to decontaminate itself from unapproved GM varieties and put in place working systems on the release of GM organisms and on food labeling," he said. "But the decontamination process is likely to take years. Romania may also become a test case to see whether GM crop-plant decontamination is possible at all."
[Balkan Insight is the online publication of BIRN - the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, a close group of editors and trainers that enables journalists in the region to produce in-depth analytical and investigative journalism on complex political, economic and social themes.]
EU to test all US rice imports - By AOIFE WHITE - AP Business Writer - The Associated Press/BRUSSELS, Belgium, OCT. 23
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8KUFR683.htm
European Union nations voted Monday to test all U.S. long-grain rice imports to make sure they don't contain genetically modified varieties that haven't been approved by the EU. All consignments of U.S. long-grain rice will be sampled and tested at EU entry ports before they can be distributed and sold, the European Commission said. The new rules will go into effect within a few days. The EU action stems from fears that a banned genetically modified rice strain named Liberty Link Rice 601, which was accidentally imported from the United States, could have found its way into the food supply. The Commission said it has to start mandatory tests because the EU and the U.S. failed to agree on how to check for genetically modified rice not legally allowed on sale in Europe. Talks broke down after the sides could not find a way of testing the rice to "a high level of consistency and accuracy" within a 15-day negotiation period, it said. The costs of testing will be borne by exporters.
The EU buys about 70 million euros ($90 million) worth of U.S. rice each year. The tests also will check for another unauthorized genetically modified rice, LL Rice 62, recently found in French imports of U.S. rice. Wary of public health and environmental concerns, the EU allows only genetically modified foodstuffs that have been evaluated and authorized to be placed on the EU market. While the EU's executive arm insists on a recall of the illegal imports, it has said the presence of LL 601 poses no immediate health risk to humans or animals based on a review of incomplete data provided by the U.S. government and the maker of the rice variety. Whether the rice is safe to eat or not, it is still cannot be sold in Europe because it has not been evaluated and authorized in line with EU law, the Commission said.
The EU said it was acting in response to finding LL Rice 601 in U.S. shipments four weeks ago. It first stepped up controls on U.S. rice in August after Dutch officials found an unauthorized genetically modified variety in shipments that arrived in the port of Rotterdam in August. Other shipments also were found in the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. The LL 601 strain was developed by Aventis CropScience, which was taken over by Germany's Bayer AG in 2002 and renamed Bayer Crop Science. Bayer announced in July it had found the 601 strain in storage units in Arkansas and Missouri.
GM-RISK FOOD IMPORTS MUST BE TESTED - EU countries to vote on measures to keep contaminated rice out of Europe - 23rd October 2006
Brussels, 23rd October 2006 - EU member states must adopt tougher measures to control the spread of contaminated food imports, says Friends of the Earth Europe. Environment Ministers and national food safety experts are meeting separately today to discuss how to deal with the contamination of rice from both the United States and China with illegal genetically modified (GM) experimental strains. The national food safety experts will vote today on a new proposal for mandatory testing of all US rice imports for GM contamination. [1]
Adrian Bebb, GM Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe said, "Mandatory testing of all rice imports from the United States for illegal genetically modified material is absolutely vital since there have now been around eighty cases of contamination across Europe in the past six weeks." Friends of the Earth Europe has published information online about all the reported rice contamination cases over the last two months. [2]
The environmental campaign group has warned that contamination is likely not only in American rice imports, but in imports from all countries that conduct outdoor experimental GM trials. Indeed, foods imported from China have also been found to be contaminated with an illegal GM rice strain. Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace first raised the alert about contaminated Chinese rice products over six weeks ago [3], but the Commission has so far refused to introduce measures to restrict their import. The food products have now been found in four countries. [2]
Friends of the Earth Europe has called for the proposed testing of rice imports to be extended to all foods imported from countries that test genetically modified crops outdoors. "We urgently need compulsory testing of all foods imported from countries that experiment with genetically modified crops outdoors. This includes imports from China. Chinese rice has already been shown to be contaminated, although the European Commission has so far failed to take action and seems to prioritise its trading relationship with China over protecting consumers," Mr Bebb added.
In addition to the meeting of national experts, Environment Ministers from across the EU will be discussing the rice contamination at their Council meeting in Luxembourg today. Friends of the Earth Europe has written to all member states calling for the introduction of a "detection register" of all GM crops tested outdoors. Currently, biotech companies are not obligated to publicise information about the crops that they are testing. Friends of the Earth Europe believes that if a company wants to test GM crops outdoors then it must first provide a validated test for that specific crop. This would enable food authorities and food companies to test normal food supplies for contamination originating from test sites.
"It is clear that you cannot grow genetically modified crops outdoors without the risk of contaminating the whole food chain. Ideally, outdoor growing should be banned. Failing that, biotech companies must be forced to disclose details about their experiments so that we can track contamination of foods and take preventative action to protect public health," Mr Bebb said.
For more information, please contact:
Rosemary Hall, Communications Officer at Friends of the Earth Europe: Tel:+32 25 42 61 05, Mobile: +32 485 930515, Email: rosemary.hall@foeeurope.org
Adrian Bebb, GM Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe: Tel :+49 802 599 1951, Mobile : +49 1609 4901163, Email: adrian.bebb@foeeurope.org
Notes:
[1] The US revealed on 18th August that the US food chain has been contaminated with an illegal and untested genetically modified (GM) strain called LL601. The EU introduced an Emergency Procedure on 23rd August that required imports from the US to be certified free of LL601 rice. The European Food Safety Authority has also declared that there is insufficient data on LL601 to be able to guarantee its safety. However, discrepancies between US testing standards and the EU's stricter requirements has led to a stand-off between the two trading blocks with all imports of US rice halted. The European Commission gave the US a 15 day deadline to agree to the EU‚s testing protocols which ran out on Thursday (19th October), before introducing new measures that require mandatory testing to EU standards at all ports. European Commission press release from Thursday 19th October: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/1437&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en FoEE press statement reaction: http://www.foeeurope.org/press/2006/AB_19_Oct_tougher_EC_rice_controls.html
[2] FoEE webpage compiling contamination cases: http://www.foeeurope.org/GMOs/rice_contamination.htm
[3] http://www.foeeurope.org/press/2006/AB_5_Sept_China_rice.html
Rosemary Hall, Communications Officer, Friends of the Earth Europe, Rue Blanche 15, B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium Tel.: +32 2 542 6105 Mobile: +32 485 930515 Fax: +32 2 537 5596 rosemary.hall@foeeurope.org http://www.foeeurope.org
Three out of four Italians see GMOs as health threat - Reuters News Service, Oct 20 2006
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2006-10-20T134407Z_01_L20602839_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-FOOD-ITALY-GMO DC.XML&WTmodLoc=SciHealth-C4-Health-9
CERNOBBIO, Italy (Reuters) - Three quarters of Italians see genetically modified (GMO) foods as a health hazard, according to research published on Friday. European consumers are known for being wary of GMO foods, but the biotech industry says its products are perfectly safe and no different to conventional foods. But a study conducted by Italy's major farm body Coldiretti and research center ISPO showed 74 percent of Italians believed GMOs could damage human health. That represented a 4 percent increase on a similar survey last year. The study, presented at the International Forum on Agriculture and Food organized by Coldiretti, was based on a survey of 4,093 Italians who represented the country's population breakdown by gender, age, profession and residence. More Italians are opting for organic food, with 71 percent saying they prefer products free of chemical additives, it showed.
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH EUROPE WELCOMES TOUGHER CONTROLS ON US RICE IMPORTS - Thursday 19th October - Friends of the Earth Europe
Brussels, 19th October - Friends of the Earth Europe has welcomed the European Commission‚s proposals announced today that all rice imports from the United States should be tested for genetically modified material before they are allowed into the EU.
Reacting to the European Commission‚s statement today [1], Adrian Bebb from Friends of Earth Europe said, "Friends of the Earth Europe welcomes the move by the European Commission to propose tougher controls against imports of contaminated rice from the US. This is absolutely necessary since there have now been almost eighty cases of contamination across Europe in the past six weeks."[2]
But the environmental campaign group has warned that contamination with genetically modified material is likely wherever outdoor experimental trials are conducted. Indeed, rice products imported from China have already been found to be contaminated with an illegal genetically modified variant.[3] Friends of the Earth Europe has demanded that the new strict protocols are extended to all crops imported from countries that test genetically modified crops outdoors.
"Compulsory testing of all foods imported from countries that experiment with genetically modified crops outdoors should urgently be introduced. This includes imports from China. Chinese rice has already been shown to be contaminated, although the European Commission has so far failed to take action and prioritises its trading relationship with China over protecting consumers," Mr Bebb added.
For more information, please contact: Rosemary Hall, Communications Officer at Friends of the Earth Europe: Tel:+32 25 42 61 05, Mobile: +32 485 930515, Email: rosemary.hall@foeeurope.org Adrian Bebb, GM Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe: Tel: +49 802 599 1951, Mobile: +49 1609 4901163, Email: adrian.bebb@foeeurope.org
Notes:
[1] http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/1437&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
[2] http://www.foeeurope.org/GMOs/rice_contamination.htm
[3] http://www.foeeurope.org/press/2006/AB_5_Sept_China_rice.html
Rosemary Hall, Communications Officer, Friends of the Earth Europe, Rue Blanche 15, B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
Tel.: +32 2 542 6105 Mobile: +32 485 930515 Fax: +32 2 537 5596 rosemary.hall@foeeurope.org http://www.foeeurope.org
EU seeks joint testing with U.S. to prevent illegal GM rice imports - International Herald Tribune - France - The Associated Press - October 4, 2006
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/04/europe/EU_GEN_EU_Biotech_Rice.php
BRUSSELS, Belgium The EU will try to set up joint tests and controls with the United States to prevent genetically modified American long grain rice from entering the bloc, an official said Wednesday. The European Commission will seek negotiations to get a quick deal with U.S. agriculture authorities on setting up a joint testing operation to ensure only legally approved rice makes it to Europe, EU spokesman Philip Tod told reporters. Unless there is such an agreement with Washington, the European Commission will push for mandatory sampling and testing by the EU's 25 states of all long rice imports to ensure they do not contain genetically altered strains, Tod said. The commission would seek only a 15-day negotiating period with the U.S. "with the view to reaching an agreement on a common sampling and testing protocol to be used when carrying out the tests required to certify U.S. long grain rice," he said.
The EU action stems from fears that a banned genetically modified long grain rice strain, named Liberty Link Rice 601, which was accidentally imported from the United States, could have found its way into the food supply. Controls were reinforced after Dutch officials found an unauthorized genetically modified variety in shipments that arrived in the port of Rotterdam in August. EU officials have confirmed that one shipment had been impounded in the Netherlands, another in Belgium. Tests in Italy also found the illegal variety in imports there last month, and the EU has alerted officials in Britain, France and Germany that some of banned long-grain rice may have entered their nations. If no agreement is reached with the United States, EU governments would go ahead without Washington to boost testing and certification procedures, Tod said. Wary of public health and environmental concerns, the EU allows only genetically modified foodstuffs that have been evaluated and authorized to be placed on the EU market.
The LL 601 strain was developed by Aventis CropScience, which was taken over by Germany's Bayer AG in 2002 and renamed Bayer Crop Science. Bayer announced in July it had found the 601 strain in storage units in Arkansas and Missouri. While the EU head office insists on a recall of the illegal imports, it has said the presence of LL 601 poses no immediate health risk to humans or animals based on a review of incomplete data provided by the U.S. government and the maker of the rice variety.
EU to boost checks on U.S. rice imports after Dutch report more illegal shipments - Associated Press, September 22 2006
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Technology/EU-to-boost-checks-on-US-rice-imports-after-Dutch-report-more-illegal-shipments/2006/09/12/1157826946082.html
BRUSSELS - The European Union said Thursday it would reinforce controls on U.S. long grain rice imports, after Dutch officials found an unauthorized genetically modified variety in shipments that arrived in the port of Rotterdam last month. EU spokesman Philip Tod said the European Commission has alerted officials in Britain, France and Germany that some of the genetically modified long-grain rice may have entered their nations. He said the imports of long-grain rice were certified as genetically unmanipulated. Yet spot checks by Dutch officials found traces of Liberty Link Rice 601, a genetically modified variety developed by Bayer CropScience AG in the United States, he said. Tod said one shipment had been impounded in the Netherlands, another in Belgium. He could not say how much rice was involved or how much may have ended up in Britain, France, Germany and, possibly, other EU nations.
Wary of public health and environmental concerns, the EU allows only genetically modified foodstuffs that have been evaluated and authorized to be placed on the EU market. LLRice 601 is not among them. Bayer never asked for the authorization to market LL601 in the U.S. The onus to certify that imports comply with EU norms lies with any company that places foreign goods on the EU market. The environmental group Greenpeace urged the EU to tell Washington "no more imports of US rice will be allowed into Europe until the US authorities have established a trustworthy certification scheme and ensured that the contamination in the US has been contained."
In the last two weeks, EU officials have twice reported illegal imports of genetically modified American rice. Last week, it said 33 out of 162 samples of rice imports contained the presence of LL Rice 601. It was developed by Aventis CropScience, which was taken over by Germany's Bayer AG in 2002 and renamed Bayer Crop Science. Bayer announced in July it had found the 601 strain in storage units in Arkansas and Missouri.
Tod said the EU wants to know from Dutch authorities how rice certified as "negative for the presence of LLRICE601" could show positive in counter-tests. He also said the EU would contact U.S. authorities. "We will be following up with them as soon as the situation in the Netherlands is clarified," he said. Tod said the European Commission "intends to take further action to strengthen" the testing of imports of long grain rice for the presence of the 601 strain. He gave no details.
On Aug. 23, the Commission said that with immediate effect U.S. long grain rice imports must be tested by accredited laboratories and certified they are free of traces of LL Rice 601. While the EU head office insists on a recall of the illegal imports it has said the presence of LLRICE601 poses no immediate health risk to humans or animals based on a review of incomplete data provided by the U.S. government and the maker of the rice variety.
EFSA safety statement was issued without sight of crucial GM rice data - Press Notice from GM Free Cymru - 21st September 2006
It has been revealed today that the statement issued by the European Food Safety Authority on 15 September relating to the safety of GM contaminated rice was scientifically irresponsible. It was based only upon highly selective data provided to it by Bayer CropScience, with large sections of the key scientific documentation blanked out.
The EFSA statement (1) was carefully worded, implying that they were not satisfied that they had sufficient data for a full scientific assessment of LLRICE 601, the offending variety. They said: "According to the Statement of the Panel issued today there is insufficient data to provide a full risk assessment in accordance with EFSA's GM guidance."
Nevertheless, the GMO Panel and EFSA effectively endorsed LL601 as safe to eat, with the words: "........ on the basis of the available molecular and compositional data and on the toxicological profile of PAT proteins, EFSA considers that the consumption of imported long grain rice containing trace levels of LLRICE601 is not likely to pose an imminent safety concern to humans or animals." As EFSA must have anticipated, these latter words were flashed around the world, summarised and simplified, and built into countless press releases as a confirmation that LL601 is safe to eat.
Documentation seen today by GM Free Cymru reveals that Bayer CropScience has withheld crucial data on the molecular characterization of LL601 and on other crucial characteristics from the European regulatory bodies, while at the same time asking for the variety to be authorized retrospectively. The Bayer dossier (2) has about 30 pages blanked out on the grounds that the information is CBI or "confidential business information."
It appears that EFSA's GMO Panel might have asked Bayer for the crucial evidence prior to its meeting on 14th September, but it is now clear that it had not received it when it released its 15th September statement.
To compound the deceit, the EFSA statement cites two "positive scientific assessments" of LLRICE601 in support of its conclusion that the variety will not be harmful if consumed in small quantities. On investigation, it is clear that these assessments are both worthless. One of those was an "informal assessment" made by unnamed members of the ACNFP to the UK Food Standards Agency and never published. That off-the-record advice is entirely unacceptable from a scientific point of view. It has caused a storm of protest from NGOs, and is one of the grounds for the legal action which FoE is taking against FSA. The other "positive assessment" was submitted on 13th September by RIKILT (Institute of Food Safety, Univ of Wegeningen, Netherlands), which is the institute run by the Chairman of EFSA's GMO Panel, Prof Harry Kuiper. That is one cause for concern, but much more important is the fact (admitted by the report's authors) they they have not seen the "censored" material in the Bayer dossier either (4) (5).
Speaking for GM Free Cymru, Dr Brian John said: "We are staggered by these revelations. They show that EFSA had no scientific basis for issuing its statement on the safety of LL601 rice. Bayer has simply refused to give EFSA and the other regulatory bodies key information that might well show that LL601 is unstable and dangerous. We know already that it is failed variety that was discontinued for unspecified reasons in 2001. EFSA should NOT have issued any statement at all in the circumstances, and it should have instructed Bayer to make full release of all the scientific data in its possession. This is another example of a giant GM corporation riding roughshod through the European regulatory process, and another example of the incompetence and corruption of those who are supposed to be looking after the health of the European consumer."
Contact: Brian John - Tel 01239-820470
NOTES
(1) http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/science/gmo/statements0/efsa_statement_gmo_LLrice601.html
(2) The Bayer petition can be accessed via EFSA:
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/etc/medialib/efsa/science/gmo/statements/gmo_llrice601.Par.0001.File.dat/efsa_statement_gmo_LLrice601.pdf
(3) The Dutch assessment is here:
http://www2.vwa.nl/portal/page?_pageid=35,1554101&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&p_file_id=12446
http://www2.vwa.nl/CDL/files/1/1004/12446%20Front_Office_rijst.pdf
(4) Translation from the Dutch on page 3: "Bayer's summary points to several appendixes of which some have not been delivered due to their confidential nature".
(5) Not even the EU governments have seen the "secret" data. In the conclusion of the Dutch report it says this: "Bayer has collected seceral data, especially a molecular characterisation of the genetic modification and an analysis of the
composition of the kernels and fenotypical and agronomic features of LL601 in comparison with conventional rice. An extensive summary of these data and the judgment of these data by USDA has been spread to EU member states through the permanent committee in Brussels." NB -- a summary and not the actual data.
EU member states reject two European Commission GMO proposals - Friends of the Earth Europe, Press release - 18th September 2006
Brussels, September 18th 2006 - Friends of the Earth Europe has called on the European Commission to respect EU member states' wishes and refuse authorisation of a genetically modified (GM) oilseed rape. At an Agriculture Council meeting today, only a small minority of EU Farm Ministers voted in favour of importing the GM oilseed rape into the EU.[1] Helen Holder, GM Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe, said, "Most member states are not happy for this genetically modified oilseed rape to be allowed into the EU. The European Commission must listen to these national concerns and refuse to authorise the crop." Under EU decision-making rules, the European Commission makes the final decision whether the GM crop will be authorised. Friends of the Earth Europe has expressed concern because in previous cases, the pro-biotech Commission has systematically authorised genetically modified organisms (GMOs) regardless of the general voting pattern by national Ministers.[2]
The oilseed rape in question is genetically modified to be tolerant to herbicides. It is produced by the multinational Bayer - the company at the centre of the recent GM rice contamination scandal.[3] Genetically modified oilseed rape has been surrounded by controversy in the past. In Japan, there have been several cases of imported GM oilseed rape growing wild around port areas. It is suspected that seeds were spilled during unloading and transportation and then sprouted.[4] In another incident, conventional oilseed rape in Australia was found to be contaminated with a GM variant.[5] "There is a risk that oilseed rape will sprout up wherever seeds are spilled during transit. Even if we only imported the herbicide-resistant GM oilseed rape, it could end up growing on EU soil and then crossing with related native species. We would then be faced with weeds that have a resistance to herbicides." Ms Holder added.
Oilseed rape is a member of the cabbage family, which includes hundreds of different species commonly found in Europe. EU funded research has found that oilseed rape can potentially cross with a variety of wild relatives.[6] UK government research reported in 2005 on oilseed rape 'superweed' - the result of GM oilseed rape cross breeding with a common weed, called charlock.[7]
In a separate GMO meeting today, representatives from member states did not support a Commission proposal to force Hungary to lift its ban on Monsanto's MON810 maize. [8] Although the maize is approved by the EU, Hungary prohibited the use, sale, production and import of Monsanto's MON810 maize seeds in January 2005, due to safety concerns.[9] The Commission will now put the vote to EU member states at an upcoming Council meeting. Helen Holder, GM Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe: "It is outrageous that the European Commission should bully Hungary into dropping its ban of a genetically modified maize. This maize is designed to produce a toxin, which may well have detrimental effects on the environment. Hungary is well within its rights to act with caution and ban it at this stage."
For more information, please contact:
Helen Holder, GM Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe:
Tel: +32 25 42 01 82, Mobile: +32 474 857638, Email: helen.holder@foeeurope.org
Rosemary Hall, Communications Officer at Friends of the Earth Europe:
Tel: +32 25 42 61 05, Mobile: +32 485 930515, Email: rosemary.hall@foeeurope,org
NOTES
[1] The application concerns oilseed rape lines Ms8, Rf3 and Ms8xRf3. Two out of three of these lines are fertile; therefore contamination by pollen is possible. The application concerns import of oilseed rape products including kernels (seeds), for use in animal feed. The same oilseed rape is already authorized for oil (1829/2003). The oil then can be used for human consumption or animal feed material. Results of the vote in the Agriculture Council meeting, Sept 18th:
For import of GM OSR: Portugal, Germany, Finland, UK, Netherlands, Belgium
Against import of GM OSR: France, Slovenia, Austria, Estonia, Malta, Latvia, Italy, Greece, Lithuania, Cyprus, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Luxembourg
Abstention: Spain, Sweden, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ireland
[2] For example, in August 2005, the European Commission approved the import of a controversial genetically modified (GM) maize, MON863, for use as animal feed, even though the majority of member states had either abstained or voted against import.
[3]
http://www.foeeurope.org/press/2006/AB_21_Aug_US_rice.html
http://www.foeeurope.org/press/2006/AB_22_Aug_US_rice.html
http://www.foeeurope.org/press/2006/AB_23_Aug_US_rice.html
http://www.foeeurope.org/press/2006/CO_01_Sept_Bayer_fund_testing.htm
http://www.foeeurope.org/press/2006/HH_17_Sept_Morrisons_rice.html
[4] http://www.saveourseeds.org/downloads/oilseed_rape_in_japanese_ports_2005pdf#search=%22oilseed%20rape%20spread%20ports%22
[5] http://www.gmcontaminationregister.org/index.php?content=re_detail&gw_id=92®=0&inc=1&con=1&cof=2&year=0&handle2_page
[6] http://www.saskorganic.com/oapf/index.html
[7] http://www.foeeurope.org/GMOs/publications/Biotech_November05.pdf
[8] The result of the vote was a simple majority against the Commission's proposal to lift the ban, but there was no qualified majority.
[9] http://www.foeeurope.org/GMOs/HUban_Press_briefing_final130906.pdf
Legal challenge plan over GM rice - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5354294.stm
GM rice has been banned in the European Union. Friends of the Earth has said it will start a legal challenge against the Food Standards Agency (FSA) over the sale of GM rice in UK supermarkets. It claims the agency privately told retailers they did not need to test for contamination of rice by GM products. GM rice is banned in the EU because of fears not enough research on possible health risks has been carried out. The FSA said: "It is the responsibility of retailers to ensure the food they put on the market is in compliance."
EU measures
Friends of the Earth said it had sent a number of rice samples for testing after reports in the US that long-grain rice had been contaminated by a type of GM rice - Bayer CropScience's LLRICE 601 - grown in experimental trials in August. The European Commission then introduced emergency measures to stop it entering Europe. No GM rice has yet been approved for consumption in the EU.
Friends of the Earth said a leaked memo revealed the FSA had told food retailers and manufacturers in private it did not expect them to carry out tests to see if rice was contaminated, or remove contaminated rice from sale. GM material was found in two types of own-brand rice for sale at Morrisons, Friends of the Earth said. The supermarket said it was withdrawing from sale 500g packets of American Long Grain Rice with a best before date of May 2008 and its 1kg pack of American Long Grain Brown Rice with a best before date of July 2008. We have now resorted to legal action to force the FSA to do its job properly, said Phil Michaels, Friends of the Earth. A Morrisons spokeswoman said: "Based on information received about tests carried out by Friends of the Earth, we have withdrawn the two products implicated as a precautionary measure."
The pressure group said the FSA had said in the memo it would only be testing for contaminated rice at mills, and any which had been sold to stores or was in warehouses would not be withdrawn. The FSA says the rice poses no threat to human health.
Friends of the Earth says it has written a formal legal letter before beginning action it hopes will lead to a judicial review. Friends of the Earth's head of legal Phil Michaels said: "The Food Standards Agency's response to this GM contamination incident is scandalous and, we believe, unlawful. It has failed to act adequately to prevent illegal GM rice reaching our plates and has failed to provide accurate advice and information as it is required to do by law." The FSA's spokesman said: "We haven't told retailers not to test, but we haven't required them to test." She said research by the European Food Standards Authority "does not suggest it poses a risk to health".
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH FINDS ILLEGAL US GM RICE IN UK SUPERMARKET - EU Member States not doing enough to detect GM contamination
Friends of the Earth Europe - Press Release -17 September 2006
Brussels, 17 September 2006 - Illegal US genetically modified (GM) rice has been found on the shelves of a big UK supermarket, Friends of the Earth Europe revealed today. The environmental campaign group is calling for a full product recall and is mounting a legal challenge over the UK Food Standards Agency's woeful response to the
contamination incident. Helen Holder, GMO Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe said, "The discovery of GMO-contaminated rice on supermarket shelves is extremely worrying. GM rice is illegal, it has not even been properly investigated and there is no guarantee that it is safe for human consumption. Any supermarket that discovers that its rice is contaminated must take immediate action and remove the products from its shelves."
Genetically modified material has been found in two samples of rice from the store Morrisons - the fourth largest supermarket chain in the UK, with nine million customers a week.[1] Friends of the Earth sent a number of samples to be tested following August's food scandal, in which rice stocks in the US were found to be contaminated with an illegal GM strain. This GM variant is an experimental Bayer CropScience rice called LL601 that was grown at outdoor test sites in the US between 1999 and 2001. The rice has not been authorised for human consumption anywhere in the world. Indeed, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) admits that there is insufficient data on LL601 to be able to guarantee its safety.[3]
In response to the crisis last month, the European Commission introduced emergency measures to prevent imports of contaminated rice from the US from entering the EU, stressing that unauthorised GMOs must not enter the EU food and feed chain under any circumstances.[4] However, Friends of the Earth Europe has criticised the weak enforcement of these measures at a member state level. The European Commission advised member states to carry out controls on products already on the market, but little testing of rice already in shops has actually taken place. In the UK, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has even advised the food industry that this is not a health and safety issue and has indicated that it does not expect the food industry to test for contaminated rice, or to remove any contaminated rice from its shelves. [5] The response of the FSA to the crisis is so inadequate that Friends of the Earth in the UK is mounting a legal challenge against it. Friends of the Earth has written a formal legal letter to the FSA, which is the first step of legal action.[6]
"National food safety authorities and food companies should be rigorously testing samples at each stage of the supply chain, in order to detect all incidences of contamination with genetically modified rice. It should not be left to civil society groups like Friends of the Earth to raise the alert." Ms Holder added. Friends of the Earth Europe would like detailed information about the exact testing that is being conducted in each member state and insists that this information should made publicly available. The environmental group also suggests that any positive contamination results should be publicised immediately. "This latest contamination incident highlights that the biotechnology industry is unable to keep its crops under control. The EU must respect the Polluter Pays principle and make industry cover the costs of testing and product recalls. It is not up to consumers and taxpayers to foot the bill for illegal contamination." Ms Holder concluded.
For more information, please contact:
Helen Holder, GMO Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe: Tel: 32 474 857 638, Email: Helen.holder@foeeurope.org
Rosemary Hall, Communications Officer at Friends of the Earth Europe: Tel: 32 485 930515, Email: rosemary.hall@foeeurope.org
NOTES
[1] http://www.nfuonline.com/x9464.xml , http://www.morrisons.co.uk/40.asp
[2] Testing was carried out by an independent laboratory. It reveals that two Morrisons samples are contaminated with GM traits. There is no GM rice approved in the EU, so any presence of GM rice is illegal. The test does not confirm that the GM contamination is LL601. The affected products are:
Morrisons American Long Grain Rice 500g, Best before May 2008. Morrisons American Long Grain Brown Rice 1kg, Best before: Jul 2008
[2] Letter available from Friends of the Earth
[3] http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press_room/press_release/llrice601.html
[4] Attention! Long link may be broken - copy and paste both lines into browser:
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/1120&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
[5] Statement from Tilda rice - available from Friends of the Earth Europe
[6] Letter available from Friends of the Earth Europe
LETTERKENNY A GMO FREE ZONE - Donegal Democrat, 14 September 2006
Letterkenny Town Council has passed a motion declaring that the town become a Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) free zone. Councillors passed the motion from Green Party councillor Neil Clarke by a majority at the September meeting of the council. Only Fianna Fail's Clr. Dessie Larkin did not support the motion saying he did not know enough about the subject to support the motion. Clr. Clarke called on the council to support his motion after similar pledges had been made by local authorities on both sides of the border. GMO foods are now prohibited by councils in Cavan, Clare, Meath, Fermanagh, Kerry, Monaghan, Westmeath, Bantry, Bray, Kerry, Galway Navan, Newry Mourne and Clonakilty, he said. "Large multinationals are tampering with plants and food for profit," he said. "There is no real demand for genetically modified foods because they are banned by 60 per cent of the largest food companies and 70 per cent of European homes won't eat them. I want the ministers to take our objections to this on board".
Supporting the motion Clr. Gerry McMonagle suggested that the council write to the government calling on a ban on GMO foods to become government policy. "We have a good country here that can grow good crops and we should be supporting people who organically grow their food. It is important that this issue goes to the county council as well and we should send a letter to all the councils in the State saying that we won't support GMO foods."
Clr. Larkin said that he wanted it put on the record that he was not supporting the motion saying that he did not have the authority or the knowledge to support it. "Big supermarkets have made the decision not to go forward with GM foods and I think organic foods is going to come forward as a market issue. But surely there has to be some positives." Clr. Damien Blake said that there needed to be stricter instructions on food labelling. Clr. Jean Crossan said that the public was not as aware of the issue as it should be.
French tests reveal banned GMO in US rice imports - Agence France Presse, September 14, 2006 - http://www.todayonline.com/articles/142572.asp
AFP: France has discovered traces of a banned genetically modified strain of rice in imports from the US, French market and consumer regulator DGCCRF has said. The regulator said Thursday that traces of the LL601 strain of rice, which has been banned by the 25-nation European Union, had been detected in seven out of 19 samples tested. "At this stage, the results reveal the absence of GMO in 12 samples and the presence of the LL601 strain of rice, at a level less than 0.1 percent, in seven samples," the regulator said in a statement. The results are from samples taken from French importers accounting for more than 90 percent of rice imports from the United States. The DGCCRF was alerted by the European Commission, which in turn had been informed by US authorities about the risk of a possible contamination.
Genetically modified rice hits Switzerland - Swiss Info, September 12, 2006
http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/front/detail/Genetically_modified_rice_hits_Switzerland.html?siteSect=105&sid=7058118&cKey=1158095339000
The country's largest retailer Migros has confirmed finding traces of genetically modified rice, supplied from the United States, that is banned in Switzerland. Migros says the storage silos containing the LL 601 rice have now been sealed but it is unclear whether any of the rice actually went on sale. Both Migros and rival Coop have suspended sales of long-grain rice from the US. Migros spokesman Monica Glisenti said that traces of the unapproved rice were found after laboratory tests, adding that the concentration level was 0.01 per cent. The legal tolerance permitted for genetically modified organisms is 0.9 per cent. However, no genetically modified rice is permitted in Switzerland, so the level is of no relevance.
Glisenti said that the LL 601 rice was found in a shipment of 1,500 tons. Long-grain rice from other countries is to remain on the shelves, she said. She noted that examination had only been possible this week because the tests had only just become available. As a result, it could not be ruled out that banned rice had already been sold in Switzerland. Coop, which receives its rice from the same supplier as Migros, said it had found no traces of LL 601. But it has also withdrawn long-grain rice from the US from the shelves, noting in a statement that contamination could not be excluded completely.
Advice
The two retailers are now waiting for advice from the Swiss Federal Health Office in Bern before taking further action. Decisions are also expected from the European Union, which has also been affected by the LL 601 rice. The EU Commission urged EU member states and the food industry to carry out tests following the discovery of unauthorised GM rice imports in Europe. Thirty-three out of 162 results of rice samples carried out by members of the European Federation of Rice Millers tested positive for the LL 601 strain, the European Commission said in a statement. It also said that three bargeloads within a 20,000 metric ton US rice cargo detained in Rotterdam had tested positive, while 20 other bargeloads had tested negative. The consignments which tested negative for the unauthorised GMO have now been allowed to proceed to their final destination, while those which tested positive continue to be detained in Rotterdam and will either be returned to the US or destroyed," the EC said.
Tighter rules
In August, the EC tightened requirements on US long-grain rice imports to prove the absence of biotech rice strain LL 601, which it said was marketed by the Bayer company of Germany and produced in the US. The Commission's decision followed the discovery by US authorities of trace amounts of LL 601, engineered to resist a herbicide, in long-grain samples that were targeted for commercial use. On Monday, environmental group Greenpeace International said a strain of LL 601 rice had been found in branches of discount supermarket Aldi Nord in Germany.
CONTEXT
*Swiss voters in November accepted a proposal for a five-year blanket ban on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Swiss agriculture.
*The result is forcing the Swiss government to put in place some of the toughest legislation on GMOs in Europe.
The European Union, of which Switzerland is not a member, ended a six-year moratorium on accepting applications for new genetically modified foods in May 2004. But Germany and France, two of Switzerland's neighbours, have both voted to uphold national bans on products they deem unsafe.
Genetically Modified Rice Found in German Supermarkets - Deutsche Welle, 12 September 2006
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2171602,00.html
The European Commission has confirmed that EU imports of long-grain rice contain traces of genetically modified material. According to Greenpeace, some of it made it to the shelves of a German supermarket chain. The European Federation of Rice Millers tested 162 shipments of rice imported from the United States. 33 of them tested positive for the genetically modified rice type known as LL-601, the European Commission said in a statement on Monday. "Any consignments which tested positive have already been recalled or withheld from the market and the Federation's members have committed to continuing such withdrawals for any positive findings," the commission said. Biotech rice is not allowed to be grown, sold or marketed in the EU.
German consumers affected
The EU confirmation followed an announcement by environmental group Greenpeace that its tests in Germany had detected traces of genetically modified rice in products sold at the Aldi Nord chain of supermarkets. Greenpeace genetics expert Ulrike Brendel said that the Aldi products, sold under the Bon-Ri brand, had been contaminated with a strain of rice developed by German industrial giant Bayer and tested in the United States. "We tested the samples at a respected and independent laboratory," Brendel said. "The results show some of the rice has been modified using a method developed and published by Bayer --there's no doubt about it."
A tainted biotech product
Rice found in eight of Aldi Nord's 35 sales areas contained traces of LL-601-- a rice strain engineered by Bayer to resist certain Bayer herbicides. Aldi Nord said documentation for the rice imports showed no signs of shipments containing genetically modified rice, but it removed the affected products from its shelves and was testing the countries of origins of other similar products. The European Commission's findings suggested GM material had been finding its way into the European market for some time. Considering that Germany imports about one quarter of its rice from the US, Brendel thought it was inevitable that a number of products and supermarket chains would be affected. "This modified strain of rice was planted in the US in 2001, but only as a test crop," Brendel said. "The fact we're finding it here in imports shows that industry isn't capable of controlling genetically modified crops. We don't know what human health or environmental risks involved. If we want to keep food sources free of genetically modified material, then we can't afford to plant GM crops."
Declaring war on biotech rice
Last month the European Commission slapped stringent testing requirements on rice imports from the US to try and stop genetically modified varieties from entering the 25 country-bloc. At the end of August, Germany's federal ministry of consumer protection ordered state-level authorities to step up their detection efforts. France and Sweden have also discovered traces of a banned genetically modified substance in imported US rice, in tests which must be confirmed by EU laboratories, a European Commission source said Tuesday. "Two member states, France and Sweden, have found, by their own methods, positive samples of GMO," the official said. "These remain to be verified by the Commission's testing methods." In France, seven samples out of 20 tested were found to include the unauthorized LL601 strain, the official said, on condition of anonymity.
EU confirms presence of tainted GMO rice - Reuters news service, 11 September 2006 - http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2420414
11 Sep , 2006 - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission confirmed on Monday the presence of an unauthorized genetically modified (GMO) strain of rice. Thirty-three out of 162 results of rice samples carried out by members of the European Federation of Rice Millers tested positive for the LL601 strain, the European Commission said in a statement. "Any consignments which tested positive have already been recalled or withheld from the market and the Federation's members have committed to continuing such withdrawals for any positive findings," the European Commission said.
