Biotechnology giant Monsanto is scrapping plans to win approval to grow new types of genetically modified crops in the European Union.It says the move is due to the lack of prospects for cultivation in the EU.
Monsanto produces GM crops and agro-chemicals which are in wide use in the US and in other parts of the world.
In Europe there have been concerns about the use of GM food products, and approval for GM crop cultivation can take years to obtain.
The Monsanto decision related to pending requests to grow genetically modified maize, soybean and sugar beet.
It comes just days after the EU began talks with the US on a wide-ranging trade deal, with agriculture likely to be one of the toughest issues.
The company said it would now concentrate on growing its conventional seeds business in Europe.
It will also look to get EU approval to import its genetically modified crop varieties from the US and South America into Europe.
In 2012, Germany’s BASF halted the development of genetically modified crops in Europe and moved its European research operations in this area to the US.
Euro MPs have voted to give EU member states more flexibility to restrict or ban genetically modified crops on environmental or health grounds.
The draft legislation, still to be discussed by EU governments, would enable countries to go beyond the EU-wide mechanism for regulating GM crops.
Arguments about the safety of GM foods continue in many of the EU’s 27 states.
The EU Commission had proposed that the EU should decide on approvals or bans on environmental or health grounds.
Currently a type of maize called MON 810 is the only GM food cultivated commercially in the EU.
But not everywhere – it is banned in six EU states: Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary and Luxembourg.
A report approved by MEPs on Tuesday says member states “may adopt measures restricting or prohibiting the cultivation of all or particular GMOs [genetically modified organisms], in all or part of their territory, on the basis of grounds relating to the public interest.
“Those measures may be based on grounds relating to environmental or other legitimate factors such as socio-economic impacts.”
EU controls to remain
The report is an amendment to a European Commission proposal for new legislation on GMOs.
The MEPs’ report argued that granting more flexibility to member states on the issue would not undermine the EU-level assessments.
The report also called for a firmer legal basis to ensure that “the polluter pays for unintended effects or damage that might occur due to the deliberate release or the placing on the market of GMOs”.
Apart from MON 810, a GM type of potato called Amflora has also been authorised in the EU, but it is harvested for industrial starch.
Supporters of GM crops argue that they deliver higher yields and resistance to pests, requiring less fertiliser and pesticides.
Opponents say more scientific data is needed, arguing that their long-term genetic impact on humans and wildlife could be harmful.
The environmental group Friends of the Earth Europe welcomed the MEPs’ vote, calling it “a clear signal from MEPs that they are on the side of the majority of European citizens who oppose GM crops”.
The European Association for Bioindustries, EuropaBio, meanwhile criticised “political voting” on the issue in Europe, saying the MEPs’ stance was “disappointing”.
“If member states can opt out of a product approval system simply because of political preference, without any scientific reasoning, the result will be more uncertainty and less choice for farmers,” said a EuropaBio director, Carel du Marchie Sarvaas. Euro MPs have voted to give EU member states more flexibility to restrict or ban genetically modified crops on environmental or health grounds.
– BBC News
