Yesterday,
the World Trade Organisation (WTO) issued their findings on
the trade dispute over biotech crops. This case was brought
forward by the US, Canada and Argentina against the European
Union. The complainants have also been supported by a number
of other countries including Australia, Brazil, Chile,
China, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras,
Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Thailand,
Uruguay. The case was not brought forward by the
biotechnology industry.
News reports
suggest that the WTO has found that the EU Member States
have not properly implemented the EU rules on biotech crops,
nor is the EU approving products in a timely manner.
The European
biotechnology industry, like the European Commission,
supports choice - the choice to grow, import and consume
approved GM products. The industry continues to back a
science-based regulatory system to ensure farmers have the
choice to use sustainable techniques that best meet the
needs of their farming operations. The EU’s regulatory
procedure for GM crops sets in place mandatory requirements
to ensure that consumers are provided with information that
allows them to make informed choices about whether or not to
purchase these products. Countries that do not implement
the EU rules, which they themselves put in place, are
denying that choice.
The dispute
over biotech crops is not about safety, the crops being
grown around the world have passed stringent food, feed and
environmental safety standards and are as safe as, or safer
than, conventional crops. The UN Food and Agriculture
Organization, The World Health Organization and the European
Commission have all found that the approved crop
biotechnology products on the market today do not show any
risks to human health or the environment.
Since the
case was launched in 2003, farmers around the world have
been choosing to plant biotech crops at unprecedented rates.
Last year alone, more than 90 million hectares were sown
with biotech crops by over 8.5 million farmers in 21
countries including European countries - the Czech Republic,
France, Germany, Portugal, Romania and Spain.
“Scientists
worldwide have shown GM crops to be safe, farmers around the
world are increasingly choosing to grow GM crops, the food
industry is increasingly supportive and the general public /
consumers are increasingly open to it,” says Simon Barber,
Director of the Plant Biotechnology Unit at EuropaBio – the
EU association for bioindustries.
Q&A on the
WTO trade dispute over genetically modified products
http://www.europabio.org/articles/WTO%20QA%2006.02.06.doc