Dear Minister,

Re: Decisions concerning genetically modified food

As a citizen of the European Union, I am very concerned about some upcoming decisions on genetically modified (GM) food and how these decisions might affect my right to choose whether I eat it.  I understand there are several pieces of draft GM legislation that will be discussed this autumn. In particular, I am concerned about the following:

1. Traceability and labelling of GM food (Draft EU Regulation COM (2001) 182 and Draft EU Regulation concerning genetically modified food and feed COM (2001) 425)

I would like the right to choose GM-free food. In order to protect this right I urge you to use

your political power to:

• Reject any moves to reintroduce exemptions for unauthorised GMOs up to a level of 1%.
• Support a threshold for the adventitious presence of authorised GMOs in food and animal feed at the lowest level possible (currently 0.1%).
• Introduce mandatory labelling of all GM products, including products derived from animals fed on GM animal feed.

2. Environmental Liability Directive (COM (2002) 17 final)

The current draft Directive is so full of loopholes that GMO producers and GMO operators could escape liability in a majority of cases. I urge you to ensure that the draft Directive is fundamentally improved to include the following points:

• Liability should cover all biodiversity.
• Liability should cover economic damage and damage to health.
• Producers and operators should be liable for all GM products, regardless if they are authorised or not.
• Liability should also apply to GM crops and GM-derived food and animal feed, that were considered harmless according to the scientific knowledge at the time of approval, but at a later stage proven to cause damage. Such provision is especially necessary because experience has shown that GMOs behave unpredictably.

3. Seeds Directive (Working document SANCO 1542/02/July2002)

Under current proposals, which will be voted upon in the Standing Committee on Seeds very soon, provisions to protect conventional and organic seed production have been weakened and proposed contamination levels are too high to ensure that GM contamination is kept out of the food supply. I therefore urge you to:

• Ensure that the Seeds Directive is dramatically improved and includes guarantees against GM pollution of the food supply.
• Argue for thresholds to be set at the lowest detectable level.
• Ensure that measures (such as increased separation distances) to prevent GM contamination are reintroduced.

4. De facto moratorium

I believe that under no circumstances should the current EU moratorium on GMO authorisations be lifted until effective arrangements for the traceability and labelling of GMO-derived products are in place. Furthermore, adequate systems that ensure environmental liability for GMO producers and the protection of seeds against GM pollution should be in place before discussing the possible ending of the moratorium.

I strongly appeal to you to take a firm position in the EU Council against GM pollution and in favour of freedom of choice and sustainability in agriculture. Im sure you are aware that these pieces of legislation are of crucial importance with regard to both consumers and the environment.

Yours sincerely,

Wilhelm Molterer
Bundesminister für
Land- und Forstwirtschaft,
Umwelt und Wasserwirtschaft
Stubenring 1,
1010 Wien
wilhelm.molterer@bmlf.gv.at

Annemie Neyts
Minister belast met Landbouw Karmelietenstraat 15,
1000 Brussel
Comext1@euronet.be

Isaltino Afonso Morais
Ministro das Cidades, Ordenamento do Território e Ambiente Rua de Século,
51 - 1200-433 Lisboa
gmcota@mcota.gov.pt