Focus on Eastern Europe

"The short-term benefits for small groups of researchers and business people who are engaged in the production and distribution of genetically modified foods must not outweigh Russia's long-term national interests"

1.Poland to seek EU GM maize rules opt-out
2.Environmental Groups and Scientists Call for Restrictions and Research on GM Food
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1.Poland to seek EU GM maize rules opt-out
Environment Daily 1754, 25/10/04

Poland's environment and agriculture ministries are to push for continued national restrictions on cultivation of genetically modified (GM) maize MON 810 despite the European Commission's decision in September to clear 17 MON 810 varieties for cultivation anywhere in the EU (ED 08/09/04
http://www.environmentdaily.com/articles/index.cfm?action=article&ref=17212 [requires subscription]

In a joint statement issued on Monday the two ministries complained that the Commission had taken its decision too quickly and without consulting any of the EU's ten new member states. Poland is currently working on a national law on production of GMOs. See press release
http://www.mos.gov.pl/1materialy_informacyjne/inne/stanowisko.pdf
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2.Environmental Groups and Scientists Call for Restrictions and Research on GM Food
Associated Press, October 25, 2004

More than 35 people, most of them leaders of scientific or environmental activist groups, released a letter recently urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to set limits on the development and use of genetically modified foods.

The letter said that it was a response to growing efforts, which it suggested originate largely in the United States, to "inculcate" Russia with agricultural production based on genetically modified organisms.

It said those who carry out "the interests of transnational, mostly American biotech companies are silent about the risks and dangers to human health and the environment from GM technologies, which have not been fully studied."

The letter calls for a ban on the use of genetically modified products in baby food, a moratorium on commercial production of genetically modified brands until they are proved harmless by independent experts, a law on "biosecurity," and the harmonization of Russian laws on genetically modified foods with the legislation of other countries.

It also calls for state support of independent research on the effects of genetically modified organisms and products on people and the environment.

"The short-term benefits for small groups of researchers and business people who are engaged in the production and distribution of genetically modified foods must not outweigh Russia's long-term national interests," the letter says.

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