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GM foods: Europe accused of "caving in" to U.S.
Eurocrats force vote on modified food


Brussels, Belgium, 17 September 2004 - The European Union's executive Commission has been accused in a letter today (Friday) by an alliance of environmental, farming and civil society organisations [1] of "caving in" to pressure by the United States and the World Trade Organisation to accept genetically modified (GM) foods.

The Commission will on Monday Sept. 20 push European member states to vote on the import of a controversial GM maize made by the US biotech giant Monsanto. This will be the Commission's eighth attempt to get its member states to accept a GM food. Only last week, the Commission approved the commercial growing of 17 varieties of a Monsanto GM maize - making it the first GM seeds commercially available across the whole of Europe.

The United States, Canada and Argentina started proceedings last year in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over Europe's position on GM foods. Civil society groups [1] have today written to the Commission accusing it of backing down before the case has even finished [2]. They highlight that since the trade dispute started the Commission has forced through 2 GM products without the support of either the public or the member states, and has pressurized countries to drop their national bans on GM foods and crops [3]. The organisations are also critical that the Commission is arguing in the WTO that there is scientific uncertainty over the safety of GM foods at the same time as pushing products domestically in Europe.

European Union (EU) member states have been asked by the Commission to vote on Monday September 20 on the import of Monsanto's GM maize called MON863. This maize has been genetically modified to resist some insects by producing a toxin in the plant. It has been heavily criticised by scientists from a number of countries, in particular France. The French Commission for Genetic Engineering (CGB) was alarmed by the results of a feeding study of MON863 on rats that showed significantly different levels of white blood cells, kidney weights and kidney structure, as well as lower albumin/globulin rates in the rats fed the GM maize. The Director of the French National research body, INRA, stated, "I hear the argument of natural variability, but what struck me in this file is the number of anomalies. There are too many elements here where significant variations are observed. I never saw that in another file." [4]. The confidential minutes of the CGB meeting (in French) are available from Friends of the Earth.

Adrian Bebb, GM campaigner for Friends of the Earth Europe said:

" The European Commission is caving in to the bullying of the United States. They are forcing more and more genetically modified foods and crops onto the market against a background of scientific disagreements. Their actions are undemocratic and against the will of the European public who have made it consistently clear that they do not want to eat genetically foods. Europe should stand firm against the US pressure and protect its people and environment from this genetically modified experiment."

In May this year campaigners delivered a petition to the WTO signed by more than 100,000 citizens from 90 countries and more than 544 organisations representing 48 million people. The signatories, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and French small farmers' leader Jose Bové, have called on the WTO not to undermine the sovereign right of any country to protect its citizens and the environment from GM foods and crops. [5]

Contact:
Adrian Bebb, GM expert, mobile +49 1609 490 1163
Alexandra Wandel, Trade expert, mobile +49 172 748 39 53

Notes to editors
1. The groups include Friends of the Earth, ATTAC France, ATTAC Hungary, ATTAC Poland, ATTAC Stuttgart. Both ENDS, Netherlands. CIIR, Catholic Institute for International Relations. CPE, European Farmers Coordination. EHNE, Basque Farmers' Union, Spain. Five Years Freeze, UK. GeneWatch UK. Greenpeace, European Unit. Gooden Waar & Co, Netherlands. HIVOS, Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries, the Netherlands. IFOAM,
The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. NordBruk, Sweden. OXFAM Solidarité, Belgium. Rete Lilliput, Italy. RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds). Smabrukare i Sjuhärad, Sweden. Transnational Institute Amsterdam. URFIG, Unité de Recherche, de Formation et d'Information sur la Globalisation. Weed, Weltwirtschaft, Ökologie & Entwicklung e.V. Germany. Wemos, Netherlands. WIDE, Women in Development Europe.

2. The letter can be found at the end of this press release

3. The Commission approved the commercial import of the GM sweet corn Bt11 by Syngenta in May, and the Monsanto GM animal feed NK603 in July. Last week the Commission also approved 17 varieties of Monsanto's MON810 maize - making it the first GM seeds commercially available across the whole of Europe.

4. Le Monde, 22 April 2004

5. The website of the campaign is www.bite-back.org. Pictures from the May 2004 action can be found at http://www.foei.org/media/gallery.html

Open Letter by European Civil Society Groups to President Prodi, Commissioner Lamy, Byrne, Wallstrom, Fischler and Michel. Download here

 

Friends of the Earth Europe campaigns for sustainable and fair societies and for the protection of the environment,
unites more than 30 national organisations with thousands of local groups
and is part of the world's largest grassroots environmental network, Friends of the Earth International.