Good commentary from the Gaia Foundation below, and here's another quote of the week from Gundula Azeez, Policy Manager, of the Soil Association:

"The European Commission must refuse to pay any compensation to these countries. They have wilfully insisted on producing something for which there is no market, and are deluded if they think this ruling will change that.

The public is right to continue to reject GM food. Emerging scientific evidence from recent animal feeding trials show a range of unpredicted negative impacts on health from eating GMOs.

Currently, the only significant market for GMOs in Europe is as animal feed, as produce from GM-fed animals does not have to be labelled. The only certain way to avoid such products is to buy organic food". (Press Statement: WTO ruling - "No change to de facto European ban on GMOs")
---

WTO Ruling Against EU Unlikely to Increase GM Acceptance

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The WTO has found in favour of the US in its complaint against the EU's de facto moratorium on GMOs. The findings of the confidential interim report of the WTO became common knowledge this week after much speculation, and the results have surprised no-one.

The EU stopped granting new approvals of GMOs in 1998 in response to intense consumer and civil society concern about the harmful effects of this new technology on human health, the environment and farming. Since that time, as awareness and understanding about GMOs has grown in Europe, opposition to it has hardened too. Poll after poll has shown that the majority of European consumers do not want to eat GM foods, or have the crops growing in their fields. In thousands of regions across Europe, governments at local, regional and national level have declared GMO-free zones and national bans on GM crops, in response to the public's strength of feeling, and in order to prevent contamination of agriculture and environment with genetically modified genes.

In 2003, the US, frustrated that they were unable to force European consumers to accept their GM exports, filed a complaint at the WTO, supported by Canada and Argentina. The US claimed that the EU position was an unfair barrier to trade. US officials have been claiming that the EU position is simply a matter of protectionist economic policies which are illegal under WTO rules, and that it is nothing to do with food safety or the environment at all. However, all Europeans know that this claim is rubbish, and that this policy is entirely as a result of consumer and citizen mobilisation due to scientific concerns.

In 2004, the EU put in place labelling and traceability rules on GMOs, and slowly re-started the process of limited GM approvals. However, GM is unlikely to enter the food chain in any significant amount, because labelling is compulsory and food suppliers are wary of putting GMOs in food if they know it will be rejected by their customers. In fact, in some ways the complaint to the WTO may have backfired on the US, because since 2003, opposition to GM has hardened even further, and many now see the bullying tactics of the US as further reason to be suspicious of the technology.

The 1000+ page report and its conclusions are supposedly confidential, until the official report is released in a few weeks' time. However, NGOs have made it available online in order to show the undemocratic approach by which the WTO came to its decision. According to Daniel Mittler of Greenpeace International 'This verdict only proves that the WTO is unqualified to deal with complex scientific and environmental issues. They even say so themselves, claiming that "the panel did not examine... whether biotech products in general are safe or not."' So it appears that the valid EU argument, that GM rejection is based on sound scientific and environmental concerns, was completely ignored by the WTO, whose only interest is in forcing trade.

Even Syngenta has admitted that the ruling is unlikely to benefit them, or to increase GM presence in the EU market, since consumer stance is so strongly against the technology. Instead, Europe will continue to be an important market for GM-free produce, and this ruling will not affect African export markets. As Carrie Stebbings of the GM Freeze in the UK has said, "The US... promote free trade around the world but they don't seem to have grasped the basic principles of supply and demand. There is no viable market for GM in Europe but US farmers could win back their market share by producing non-GM food that people actually want to eat."

Best wishes,

Teresa
[Teresa Anderson, Gaia Foundation -
http://www.gaiafoundation.org]

****************************************

1. Europe Bridles at WTO View on National Biotech Bans Article from Reuters.
Date: 8 February, 2006
Jeremy Smith
http://www.alertnet.org/redir/righsection_rel_art__index_htm/thenews/newsdesk/L08210482.htm

2. WTO GMO Decision Expected Tomorrow: Evidence Shows the US's Desperate Efforts Unlikely to Succeed in Forcing GM Food Acceptance Press Release from GeneWatch UK.
Date: 6th February 2006

3. Q&A: Trade Battle Over GM Food
Article from BBC.
Date: 7 February 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/europe/4690010.stm

4. EU Says WTO Ruling Won't Change its GMO Approach Article from Herald News Daily (US).
8 February, 2006
http://www.heraldnewsdaily.com/stories/news-00138418.html

5. Syngenta Not Seen Impacted By WTO Ruling Article from Dow Jones Newswires.
Date: 7 February 2006
http://www.newratings.com/analyst_news/article_1199532.html

6. US May Press Africa on GMOs, Africans Vow to Resist Article from Reuters.
Date: 8 February 2006
Shapi Shacinda
http://za.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-02-08T134127Z_01_ALL849230_RTRIDST_0_OZATP-TRADE-WTO-GMOS-AFRICA-REFILED-20060208.XML&archived=False

7. EU Citizens will Decide on GM, not US/ WTO Bullying Press Release from GM Freeze, UK.
Date: 7th February 2006
www.gmfreeze.org

8. Groups Publish Conclusions of WTO Dispute: WTO secrecy an outrage Press Release from IATP, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace.
Date: 8 February 2006
http://www.foeeurope.org/press/2006/joint_8_Feb_WTO_conclusions.htm

Go to a Print friendly Page

Email this Article to a Friend

Back to the Archive