Green Groups Blast EU Agency Over Biotech Maize
Date: 30-Jul-09
Country: BELGIUM
Author: Jeremy Smith
Greenpeace activist displays signs symbolising genetically modified maize crops during a protest in front of the European Union headquarters in Brussels November 24, 2008.
Photo: Thierry Roge
BRUSSELS - International green groups attacked Europe's leading food safety agency on Wednesday for its views on biotech crops and foods, saying a recent opinion was flawed and had ignored studies highlighting safety concerns.
In a report analyzing last month's opinion by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on the safety of a genetically modified maize made by U.S. company Monsanto, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE) said there was enough evidence to show that the maize, called MON 810, was hazardous.
EFSA's scientific opinion concluded that MON 810 maize was "as safe as its conventional counterpart with respect to potential effects on human and animal health."
It also said the maize was "unlikely to have any adverse effect on the environment in the context of its intended uses." Those intended uses include seed for cultivation.
Monsanto's insect-resistant MON 810 maize is the only GM crop that may as yet be grown commercially in the European Union. Although its original 10-year approval expired in April 2008, the maize may still be grown during the renewal process.
EFSA's opinion is significant since it provides the basis for EU regulators to begin the process of renewing the license for growing the GM maize, banned in six EU countries on environment and health concerns.
The two green groups say Italy-based EFSA has ridden roughshod over the concerns of national scientists, especially after EU environment ministers called in December for a review of EU approval laws and better, longer-term safety assessments.
EFSA had failed to admit there was scientific uncertainty about the maize's environmental or health impact, their report said, adding that EFSA had ignored -- or played down -- research showing the insecticide that MON 810 maize produced could have negative effects on Europe's butterflies and other insects.
"The food safety agency either suffers from a serious lack of scientific expertise or is playing a highly risky political game with our health and environment," Adrian Bebb, FoEE's food and biodiversity coordinator, said in a statement.
"There is clearly enough evidence to show that this insecticide-producing crop could be hazardous and should be banned from Europe's fields," he said.
EFSA, which has often drawn criticism from green groups over biotechnology, rejected the accusations about its scientific expertise and the quality of its evaluation of MON 810 maize.
"I ... wish to highlight that EFSA assesses each GMO according to European Union and internationally agreed guidelines," an EFSA spokesman said by email from Italy.
"Its GMO panel is made up of leading independent scientists, expert in GM risk assessment, from across Europe, who are supported by a large number of external experts," he said.
