New report from Greenpeace slams the genetic experiment on maize in Spain
The GM maize (corn) contains a genetic construct called Bt 176,
consisting of a gene from the soil bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis
that encodes an insecticidal toxin able to kill the European Corn
Borer. It also has a gene that confers increased tolerance to a
herbicide and a gene conferring resistance to the antibiotic
ampicillin.
Syngenta's (formerly Novartis) Bt176 corn was first grown in the
USA in 1996. The European Commission approved the placing on the
market of the GE crop in 1997, with a decision that was ignoring
the negative recommendations of the EU's own scientific committee
and the Environment Ministers Council. Several EU member states,
among them Austria, Luxembourg and Germany, prohibited the growing
of Bt176 maize due to concerns over detrimental environmental and
health effects. The Spanish authorities, however, approved the
commercial growing in 1998. While they are still on sale in Spain
today, the Bt176 varieties were already withdrawn in 2001 from the
list of approved varieties in the USA, a country known for its
support for GE crops.
The
Spanish government not only ignored concerns over environmental and
human health risks, but also the fact that a majority of Spanish
consumers, as consumers in many other countries around the world,
say 'no' to GE foods and prefer non-GE products, even if the
genetically modified foods were much cheaper.
A new report, "The impact of GM corn in Spain," has been
prepared by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. It reveals the
scandalous sloppiness around the planting of Syngenta's genetically
engineered maize in Spain. While the Spanish administration acted
irresponsibly in largely passing on responsibility for safety
standards to the GE company, Syngenta failed to meet even the lax
requirements that the government did impose. Five years after the
approval of the GE crop, the monitoring / prevention plan has still
not been made public. No official data is available on the exact
area planted with GE crops or on where they are planted; nor is
there an independent analysis of GE crop results in agronomic
terms, of the possible appearance of resistance in pest, of the
unwanted impacts on non-target species and soil ecosystem, or of
the effects of antibiotic resistance genes on animals and
humans.
It has not been proven that the GE varieties cultivated in Spain
give better results than conventional ones and are necessary and
useful for pest control. The low incidence of the corn-borer pest
in Spain does not justify taking the high risk of introducing Bt
maize.
In
the meantime, the first cases of GE contamination have already
occurred in Spain. In 2001, organically grown maize in the Navarra
region was contaminated by Bt176 maize and, as a consequence,
farmers suffered losses since the crop couldn't be marketed as
organic produce. This illustrates how the 'polluter-pays' principle
is turned into a 'contaminated-farmer-pays' principle.
Co-author Juan-Felipe Carrasco of Greenpeace Spain said: "Spain
has become a big experimental field, where GE crops have been
cultivated for the last 5 years without any agronomic advantage
compared to conventional varieties and where no measures have been
adopted to prevent their negative impacts."
The Spanish situation highlights the need for measures to
prevent the
genetic contamination of conventional and organic crops and
should serve as a warning for the other European countries. No new
authorisation for growing of GM plants should be granted and, most
urgently, Member States should oppose the plans of the European
Commission to legalise the contamination of seeds by setting up
thresholds of authorised GE contamination in conventional seed
lots. Allowing contaminated seeds to be put on the market would
lead to a creeping and unmonitorable contamination of all European
farmlands by GMOs that would make it impossible to sustain a
GE-free supply after a few years. GE companies should instead be
made legally and financially liable for the environmental and
economic damages their products can cause.
Preventing genetic contamination and other negative effects of
GE crops should now be the number one priority for the Spanish
Government instead of actively promoting GE agriculture in Spain.
We call on Spain to apply the precautionary principle and to stop
the growing of GE crops. The Spanish example should be a warning
signal to other European countries not to allow GM crops.