Genetically modified food in the European Union
The GM soy made up about 2% of the total harvest at the time, and Eurocommerce and European food retailers required that it be separated.
[2] Although the European Commission (EC) did eventually relent, this sparked American concerns that Europe would soon become a tighter regulatory environment - it was conditioned on sale as processed products and never as seed.
[3] The Clinton Administration was widely urged to harmonize standards in its impending second term to guarantee an open European market.
[3] In 1998, the use of MON810, a Bt expressing maize conferring resistance to the European corn borer, was approved for commercial cultivation in Europe.
[17] The slow pace of approval was criticized as endangering European food safety[18][19] although as of 2012, the EU had authorized the use of 48 genetically modified organisms.
In 2014, a panel of experts set up by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council argued that "A regulatory system based on the characteristics of a novel crop, by whatever method it has been produced, would provide a more effective and robust regulation than current EU processes , which consider new crop varieties differently depending on the method used to produce them."
[citation needed] A Eurobarometer survey has indicated that "level of concern" about genetically engineered food in Europe has decreased significantly, from 69% in 2010 to 27% in 2019.
[33] Around one quarter (26%) of the EU citizens indicate the presence of genetically modified ingredients in food or drinks as a concern in 2022 while only a smaller proportions (8%), the use of new biotechnology in food production, i.e. genome editing [34] The regulations concerning the import and sale of GMOs for human and animal consumption grown outside the EU involve providing freedom of choice to the farmers and consumers.
The EU uses the precautionary principle, demanding a pre-market authorisation for any GMO to enter the market and a post-market environmental monitoring.
[1] The EFSA uses independent scientific research to advise the European Commission on how to regulate different foods in order to protect consumers and the environment.
The EC investigated and rejected those from six countries ("...the scientific evidence currently available did not invalidate the original risk assessments for the products in question...") and one, the UK, withdrew.
[47] The EC Directorate-general for agriculture and rural development states that the regulations concerning the import and sale of GMOs for human and animal consumption grown outside the EU provide freedom of choice to farmers and consumers.
[51] In addition to France and Germany, other European countries that placed bans on the cultivation and sale of GMOs include Austria, Hungary, Greece, and Luxembourg.
[54] In 2010, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovenia and the Netherlands wrote a joint paper requesting that individual countries should have the right to decide whether to cultivate GM crops.
In March 2010 a second GMO, a potato called Amflora, was approved for cultivation for industrial applications in the EU by the European Commission[55] and was grown in Germany, Sweden and the Czech Republic that year.
[1] Member States may also designate GM-free zones, effectively allowing them to ban cultivation of GM crops in their territory without invoking a safeguard clause.
[37] In October 2015, Bulgaria announced it has opted out of growing genetically modified crops, effectively banning the cultivation of different types of GMO corn and soybeans.
[59] In February 2008, the French government used the safeguard clause to ban the cultivation of MON 810 after Senator Jean-François Le Grand, chairman of a committee to evaluate biotechnology, said there were "serious doubts" about the safety of the product.
[60] Twelve scientists and two economists on the committee accused Le Grand of misrepresenting the report and said they did not have "serious doubts", although questions remained concerning the impact of Bt-maize on health and the environment.
[61] The EFSA reviewed studies the French government had submitted to back up its claim, and concluded that there was no new evidence to undermine its prior safety findings and considered the decision "scientifically unfounded".
[62] The High Council for Biotechnology subcommittee dealing with economic, ethical and social aspects recommended an additional "GMO-free" label for anything containing less than 0.1% GMO which is due to come in late 2010.
[65] In April 2009, German Federal Minister Ilse Aigner announced an immediate halt to cultivation and marketing of MON 810 maize under the safeguard clause.
[66] Three French scientists reviewing the scientific evidence used to justify the ban concluded that it did not use a case-by-case approach, confused potential hazards with proven risks and ignored the meta-knowledge on Bt expressing maize, instead focusing on selected individual studies[clarification needed].
When the country joined the European Union in 2007 it was no longer allowed to grow the GM crop, resulting in the total area planted in soybeans dropping by 70%.
[71] In 1992, Switzerland voted in favour of the introduction of an article about assisted reproductive technologies and genetic engineering in the Swiss Federal Constitution.
[77] As of 2016, six cantons (Bern, Fribourg, Geneva, Jura, Ticino and Vaud) have introduced laws against genetically modified organisms in agriculture.
