GMO UPDATE: EUROPE, CANADA

EU postpones decision on restarting biotech approvals

The European Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health at its 10 November meeting deferred a decision on whether or not to approve a variety of genetically modified maize -- Syngenta's Bt-11 -- for food use in the EU. A positive decision would mark the end of the de facto moratorium on the approval of new genetically modified organisms (GMOs), in place since 1998 and currently being challenged in the WTO. The vote is now expected for the next Committee meeting on 12 December.

EU member states remain divided over the approval, with the UK, Spain and the Netherlands in favour while Austria and Italy are putting up the strongest resistance. France, where the previously strong opposition to biotech food has softened in recent months, is widely seen as a crucial player in the discussion. For the maize to be approved, the European Commission would require a "qualified majority" in the Committee (i.e. 62 votes out of 87 with the number of votes per country weighted on the basis of population). If this majority cannot be reached, the matter would be taken up by the European Council of Agriculture Ministers who would need to decide within three months. Even if the maize were approved, imports would not start until April 2004 when the new EU labelling and traceability regulations come into effect.

The Committee meeting was accompanied by protests of civil society groups against the approval. The environmental group Greenpeace called on countries to reject the approval. "There is no benefit from GM tinned sweet corn, only environmental and health concerns, so it is not a one month delay that is required but a rejection of this authorisation," said Eric Gall of Greenpeace. Friends of the Earth Europe hailed the delay as a "victory for common sense". They expressed concern that the GM maize had not been assessed under the new approval process, which they said was "more thorough and transparent".

Approving the GM corn for food use -- which would be sold in cans, not for planting -- would only be the first step in lifting the de facto moratorium and farmers might have to wait for several months until they would get permission to plant new GM varieties. Even then, farmers would be faced with the economic gamble of whether to plant GMOs, given the widespread scepticism of European consumers to biotech foods. The delay is likely to antagonise some of the EU's trading partners, including the US, Canada and Argentina, which have launched dispute settlement proceedings at the WTO over the de facto moratorium (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 25 August 2003).

Ten European regions want to remain GM free

Ten regions in Austria, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Greece and the UK on 4 November joined forces to declare the 'network of GMO free regions'. The group is coordinated by Upper Austria and Tuscany and includes Aquitaine, Basque Country, Limousin, Marche, Salzburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Thrace-Rodopi and Wales. Also on 4 November, the regional parliament of Upper Austria announced that it would appeal a decision by the European Commission at the Court of First Instance to reject the region's request to declare a GM free zone. The regional parliament cited findings of farm scale evaluations in the UK, which had suggested that certain GM varieties could be harmful to biodiversity.

The Commission continues to oppose the possibility of GM free regions, arguing that a blanket ban would violate the core principles of the EU given that no evidence existed to suggest that GMOs were harmful to humans or the environment, according to a spokesperson of the Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler. The spokesperson added that farmers should be given the choice whether to grow GMOs and that "we must not succumb to populism in this case". Regarding concerns over contamination of organic crops with GMOs, the spokesperson noted that "there are more proportionate measures that can be taken to protect the interests of organic farmers", such as buffer zones or limited bans on specific GMOs.

Canada considers change to crop and food approval process

Canada is examining the possibility of introducing an additional step in its crop and food safety approval system that would assess market acceptance of novel foods before they were grown, according to Jamie Oxley of the Canadian Department of Agriculture. To date, new foods are only assessed for food, feed and environmental safety. Suggestions -- informally discussed with farmers, processors, scientists and industry players -- range from new regulations to industry-policed standards. The Department hopes to launch a formal consultation process in spring or summer. The issue of market acceptance has been widely discussed in the controversial case of Monsanto's Bt wheat, which has met widespread opposition in Canada and the US, including among farmers, consumers and environmental groups (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 21 March 2003). Monsanto has pledged that even if the wheat were approved, it would not sell it unless at least the EU and Japan had accepted it.

Additional resources

For further information on pending decisions in the EU regarding GM food, feed and seed, click here.

"EU GM decision postponed," IRELAND ONLINE, 10 November 2003; "EU postpones biotech test case vote to December," REUTERS, 11 November 2003; "Upper Austria to appeal against Commission rejection of GMO ban," CORDIS NEWS, 5 November 2003; "Canada ponders new step for crop, food approvals," REUTERS, 6 November 2003.