Getting approval to allow genetically-modified-organisms (GMOs) into Europe is no easy task. Modified soybeans from the United States have been “held up for months because of food safety fears.” Further, the European Union (EU) does not let GMOs in unless the EU votes to give those products approval to enter Europe.Now, Mariann Fischer Boel, the European agriculture commissioner, is urging member countries to draw up rules before the end of 2009 that would allow the importation of soybeans from the United States as they are vital as a feed source for livestock. The three main suppliers of soy to Europe are Argentina, Brazil, and the U.S. Each of these nations mainly raises GM varieties, thus, making it more difficult for EU manufacturers and farmers to get access to soy for feed due to current rules.
In fact, according to Mia Shanley’s story for Reuters, “[m]ore than 200,000 tons of U.S. soy have been refused entry at EU ports in recent months after traces of unapproved GM maize varieties were discovered in them.” The EU feed industry now has fears that they will not be able to access the millions of tons of U.S. soybeans, as was their previous plan, unless the current “zero-tolerance policy on unapproved GMOs is changed.” This fear does not escape Fischer Boel, ‘"Over the summer I have become even more worried about this because of the fact that we are importing into Europe a lot of soybean, and we desperately need soybean for our pig and meat production [.]"’ Yet, without rule changes Fischer Boel’s worries could come true.
So, now it is up to the Commission to develop a solution to the problem. While a certain variety of GM corn may receive approval from member states for importation, changing the entire biotech approval system could be too heavy a lift for the Commission. As Shanley reports, “[d]iplomats do not expect anything firm until a new team of European commissioners starts work in early 2010.”
To read the Reuters article click here.
Posted: 09/14/09
