Biotech industry slams EU council on GMO rule

The EU Agricultural Council’s decision to uphold a Greek ban on genetically modified (GM) corn is slammed by the EuropaBio claiming that the judgement flies in the face of European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) advice on biotech crops.

Opinions of the EFSA are required by law if any country’s application to authorize a new GMO product on EU territory. The agency set up in 2002 conducts its assessments based on data given the biotech companies.

As Italy’s EU delegation has complained, that EFSA does not conduct any scientific tests to ascertain whether new GM products are safe to use; that its judgement are wholly dependent on the data supplied by applicants like Monsanto.

Monsanto maize MON 863 which failed to win EU Agricultural Council, its own feeding study on rats showed the maize caused significant changes in factors such as levels of white blood cells, kidney weights and kidney structure when fed to rats. Such studies are normally not available for wider scientific scrutiny. Monsanto only published the MON863 study after being ordered by a German court. When indedependent scientists examined the Monsanto study’s methodology they pronounced it highly suspect and its finding worthy of more thorough investigation. However, as usual, EFSA pronounced itself entirely satisfied with the Monsanto study.

A leaked report by Burston Marsteller produced for EuropaBio – the biotech industry’s Brussels-based lobby group warned: All the research evidence confirms that the perception of the profit motive fatally undermine the industry’s credibility on these questions." The report encouraged EuropaBio to try and influence politicians and regulators in order that they in turn could win public trust regarding the safety of GMOs.