A bright new future for agriculture? Yes
The European Commission has just approved a genetically modified crop for cultivation in the EU, its first such decision in 12 years. Magda Stoczkiewicz says the decision flouts the public will, while Willy De Greef argues it is an important step forward.
The European Commission’s decision on 2 March to approve the cultivation of a genetically modified (GM) potato and the use of three GM maize crops marked an important step forward. It was important for regulators, as it demonstrated that this Commission is committed to applying EU law. It was important for scientists, as it respected the opinion of the leading scientific experts from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), who have dedicated many years to rigorously assessing the products. And it was important for European farmers, who have been granted the freedom to choose whether or not to cultivate a GM crop that scientists have concluded is safe and beneficial.
But for European industry, although this represents a welcome return towards science-based decision-making, there is still a long and pot-holed road ahead towards establishing an environment that stimulates agricultural innovation.
The Amflora potato, developed primarily for the production of starch for the paper industry, was the first approval of a GM crop for cultivation in Europe since 1998. Its painstaking approval process was initiated more than 13 years ago with the request for authorisation submitted in August 1996. More than a decade and two EFSA assessments later, the Commission concluded that Amflora is as safe as conventional potatoes for humans, animals and the environment. Nevertheless, having failed to reach a qualified majority in the Council of Ministers, the Commission asked EFSA to prepare a new, consolidated scientific opinion. EFSA followed up with a third positive opinion in June 2009 that confirmed its previous assessments.
In Europe, a further 17 products await approval for cultivation and 46 await authorisation to be used for food and feed as well as to be imported and processed. Until now, our ability to place biotech products on the market in a timely manner, as required by EU legislation, has floundered, to Europe’s detriment. As the Commission’s own Joint Research Centre (JRC) has shown in a study published in 2008, GM crops have big potential to boost the competitiveness of European agriculture, to reduce its carbon footprint and to decrease its environmental impact.
The paradox is that GM crops were invented in the EU and yet 99.9% of GM production is happening elsewhere. As a result, Europe cultivates fewer GM crops than Burkina Faso. China, India, Brazil and the US have left us on the starting blocks long ago.
The latest figures show that 25 countries have adopted GM agriculture, with 14 million farmers growing 134 million hectares of crops. That is an area greater than the size of the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and Belgium put together. These figures have risen for 14 consecutive years. Are we seriously expected to believe that more and more farmers are cultivating GM crops when they are of no benefit?
Europe has put in place the world’s most stringent, science-based regulatory system for the assessment, approval and monitoring of agricultural biotechnology products. This is a fact that needs to be acknowledged and communicated. Communication is an integral part of managing risk, and we deplore the EU’s lack of effective communication about GM organisms. Confusion breeds fear, but understanding leads to support. And we must have the support of Europeans if we are to overcome the food security and climate-change challenges that we face.
Europe’s farmers should have the choice to grow GM crops and to compete with the rest of the world. Granting them that choice would enable the EU to achieve its long-term sustainability goals across a wide range of policy sectors, including, we believe, the environment, development, climate action, energy, competitiveness and trade. In addition, European consumers should have the right to choose to buy GM food that has been rigorously tested and proven to be beneficial and environmentally sustainable.
For all of the fury, shock and outrage reported by the media last week, the Commission’s approval boiled down to a simple case of respecting the opinion of EU scientists and of applying EU law. Indeed, a non-Brussels resident could quite easily be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss was about.
Willy De Greef is the secretary-general of Europa-Bio, the European association of bioindustries.
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