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Europe
Reverses Position to Support Genetic Engineering
ENS
January
24, 2002
BRUSSELS,
Belgium, January 24, 2002 (ENS) - A manifesto in favor of
biotechnology in the European Union issued Wednesday by its executive
branch, the European Commission, calls for stronger backing for a
sector seen as critical to future competitiveness. The communication
proposes adopting "the highest standards of governance" to
win over a sceptical public.
Ethical
and environmental worries have "detracted attention" from
the strategic importance of the life sciences, the Commission
asserts. "This has stifled our competitive position, weakened
our research capability and could limit our policy options in the
longer term."
Rather
than accept such a "passive and reactive role," it goes
on, Europe should "develop proactive policies to exploit"
biotechnology. "The longer Europe hesitates the less realistic
this...option will be."
A
key battleground will be the development of new genetically modified
(GM) crops, the EU approvals process for which has been deadlocked
since 1998.
Over
the past year the EU executive has gradually stepped up its
rhetoric, with agriculture commissioner Franz Fischler last September
accusing anti-GM member states of "populism."
"A
revolution is taking place in the knowledge base of life sciences
and biotechnology, opening up new applications in health care,
agriculture and food production, environmental protection, as well as
new scientific discoveries. This is happening globally," the
commission states.
"The
common knowledge base relating to living organisms and ecosystems is
producing new scientific disciplines such as genomics and
bioinformatics and novel applications, such as gene testing and
regeneration of human organs or tissues. These in turn offer the
prospect of applications with profound impacts throughout our
societies and economies, far beyond uses such as genetically modified
plant crops," says the commission, which does not want Europe to
be left behind.
Opposition
to genetically modified crops has been shown in public rallies
across Europe, and has been espoused by some high profile dignitaries
including the UK's Prince Charles.
In
May 2000, the Prince of Wales said on the BBC, "Above all, we
should show greater respect for the genius of nature's designs,
rigorously tested and defined over millions of years. This means
being careful to use science to understand how nature works, not to
change what nature is, as we do when genetic manipulation seeks to
transform a process of biological
evolution
into something altogether different." "The idea that the
different parts of the natural world are connected through an
intricate system of checks and balances which we disturb at our peril
is all too easily dismissed as no longer relevant," the Prince said.
Friends
of the Earth Europe has been campaigning for years to safeguard for
the people of Europe "the right to choose GM-free food, to grow
GM-free crops and to protect GM-free habitats," the group says.
Acknowledging
public hostility to this and other aspects of biotechnology, the
commission paper asserts that Europe must develop policies that
"enjoy the confidence and support of its citizens." In
response it proposes a five point agenda for achieving "the
highest standards of governance."
These
include commitments to "societal dialogue and scrutiny"
plus respect for "ethical values and societal goals."
Furthermore, consumers should be able to exercise "informed choice."
The
Commission goes on to promise action to "clarify the need, and
possible options" for measures to ensure "sustainable
coexistence" of conventional and organic farming with GM crops.
The
Commission will support the development of methodologies for
monitoring "potential long term environmental impacts of GMO's
as compared with conventional crops, and methodologies for the
monitoring of effects of genetically modified food and feed as
compared with conventional food and feed."
With
the establishment of the European Food Safety Authority, the work on
the early identification of emerging risks will be reinforced and
upgraded, the commission says.
It
also pledges to report next year on the feasibility of "further
improving...the framework for authorizing GMOs for deliberate release
into the environment, including a centralized Community authorization process."
In
opposition to genetically modified crops, the organic foods movement
is gathering steam. On Tuesday, hundreds of people from across the
country came to London to urge the government to do more to support
organic farming in the UK. The Organic Targets campaign wants the
Government to ensure that 30 percent of UK agricultural land is
organic by 2010 and that an
organic
action plan is put in place.
But
the commission is now firmly behind genetic modification, and
extends this support to developing countries. There the EU supports,
"the redefining of national research towards an appropriate mix
of traditional techniques and new technologies, based on priorities
developed with local farmers."
The
commission supports "the development and enforcement of
effective measures to conserve, to use sustainably and to provide
access to genetic resources and traditional knowledge, as well as to
share equitably the benefit arising from them, including income
generated by intellectual property protection."
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