| “As a result, the issue of ratification is kicked up to the European Commission, which is then tasked with coming up with some sort of final recommendation. The end result is that a process which can be completed within 18 months in the US takes up to three years here in the EU.”
Own Brennan went on to point out that the EU’s current policy of zero tolerance regarding the inclusion of non ratified GM plant varieties in animal feed rations is totally unworkable.
“It is already costing local farmers up to £50 million per year in higher feed prices,” he further explained.
“In 2007 imports of maize products were halted because of the delays in ratifying the then new GM maize variety Herculex. The EU zero tolerance stipulation left local compounders with no option but to stop importing all maize products from the US and source 300,000 tonnes of alternative raw materials. Herculex was a problem, which could be overcome with difficulty. However, the prospect of similar developments taking place in the soya market could deal a savage blow to our intensive sectors. The reality is that the pig and poultry sectors have no alternative to soya as a protein source.”
Owen Brennan concluded:
“The zero tolerance stipulation is both unfair and unworkable and is an issue which the EU must address as a matter of priority. This is particularly so given the fact that products derived from animals fed non approved maize and soya varieties in other parts of the world are still allowed into Europe."
The GM evening, kicked off with a presentation from AFBI’s Dr Colin Fleming, who addressed the question: what is GM?
He explained that plant breeding has been an ongoing process for the past 7,000 years citing, as an example, the success of man in developing kale, cauliflower, brussels sprouts plus modern varieties of cabbage and broccoli from the one common ancestor – a wild cabbage strain.
“All of this has been achieved through natural selection,” he added.
The AFBI plant pathologist went on to point out that plant breeding had also been at the heart of political controversy in the past.
“A case in point was the development of orange coloured carrots by Dutch breeders in the 16th century, basically to annoy the Spanish. This was achieved by crossing yellow and purple strains that were in common use at the time. However, it was quickly identified that the new orange varieties had a better eating quality than their yellow or purple counterparts, hence their continuing popularity to this day,” he explained.
Modern plant breeding techniques can be traced back to the work of Gregor Mendel in the latter part of the 19th century. Commercial hybrids were developed in the 1930s with mutagenesis (achieved using both chemicals and radiation) becoming a reality twenty years later.
“This led the way for the fertiliser and herbicide-fuelled green revolution which has helped feed the doubling in the world’s population that has been achieved over the past forty years.,” Colin Fleming stressed.
“The first GM experiments were carried out in the 1970’s, following the development of techniques to isolate specific genes within plants. The actual gene insertion is facilitated with the use of bacteria.
“There are several types of genetic modification – those designed with crop input traits in mind and those plant types developed with enhanced crop output features. Examples of the former category include improved insect, herbicide and drought resistance. Included in the second grouping are the flavr savor tomato - with its longer shelf life -, nutritionally enhanced foods, trees that produce paper and a wide range of ornamental plants.
“A third new grouping features value-added traits, which completely change the traditional use of the plant. Examples here include the development of therapeutic proteins and plant vaccines.”
“GM crops are now grown on approximately 10% of the world’s agricultural land area with the US, Argentina, China, India and Canada to the fore in implementing the technology. In these countries the emphasis has been placed on growing GM varieties of maize, soya, oilseed rape and cotton with enhanced levels of insect, herbicide and drought tolerance.”
Colin Fleming went on to point out that the jury is still out on whether GM crops have fulfilled their potential.
“The world faces a number of challenges moving forward, chief among them being the need to provide food security for a fast rising population with only a limited amount of available land on which to grow crops. We will soon know if GM can help mankind in his endeavours,” he concluded.
Friends of the Earth’s Declan Allison told attending delegates that his organisation is totally against the use of the new technology.
“We will have major reservations about GM until issues such as cross fertilisation and the development of super weeds have been addressed.”
He added:
“GM is also doing tremendous damage to organic and other, more traditional, farming practises. There have been 149 incidences of cross contamination, one of which, involving the use of GM maize, has ended up costing US farmers $200 million dollars per year. What’s more, the increased yields promised by GM plant breeders have not materialised.
“The technology has also led to the use of larger quantities of herbicide on fields - not less. Farms are not laboratories. GM crops can be affected by prevailing climatic conditions. If fields are sprayed at the wrong time, then the desired weed killing effect will not be achieved, leading to even larger quantities of herbicide being applied. In some cases more potent weed killers have had to be used on crops to achieve the desired weed killing effect.”
The Friends of the Earth representative also referred to GM’s indirect role in the destruction of the rainforests.
“The large scale acquisition of land in many parts of South America by industrial farming businesses to grow GM fodder crops has left peasant farmers with no option but to clear virgin rain forest. Only in this way can they grow the crops they need for survival. This is also speeding up the process of climate change,” Declan Allison argued.
“In a recent poll 50% of the consumers in the United States surveyed said they did not want to eat GM foods. The same research indicated that up to 90% of US consumers would like to see effective GM labelling.”
He concluded:
“Friends of the Earth is calling on the UK government to stop supporting GM research. Funds should be directed towards the development of more sustainable food production systems. We are also lobbying the Northern Ireland Assembly to adopt a GM-free policy.”
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