Grains and gains

This month will be important for the future of agricultural biotechnology in Europe. A World Trade Organization panel is expected to deliver in the next few days its long-awaited verdict on a trade dispute brought by a coalition of countries, including the U.S., Canada and Argentina, against the EU over its continued resistance to the authorization of genetically modified seeds. And while that decision -- whichever way it goes -- will have far-reaching implications for the future of agricultural biotechnology on the Continent, when seen in the context of the global biotech landscape, Europe's continued ambivalence toward this technology seems strangely anomalous to what has clearly become a global trend. Just look at the statistics. The year 2005 saw the planting of the one billionth acre of genetically modified crops in the world, and marked the 10th anniversary of the first commercial planting. In the decade that GM crops have been grown commercially, they have experienced an unprecedented rate of growth across the world. Last year alone, more than 81 million hectares of the world's arable land were sown with genetically modified seed by over eight million farmers in 17 countries -- a 20% increase on the previous year. It is little wonder then that while the bureaucrats in Brussels argue over the appropriateness of the technology, farmers in Europe are increasingly voting on the issue with their hoes. In Spain -- the pariah state of the EU when it comes to the cultivation of biotech crops -- farmers planted 58,000 hectares of insect-resistant maize in 2004, an increase of 80% on the previous year's level. This maize is resistant to the corn borer, a pest known to decimate entire harvests, and has brought great benefits for the Spanish farming community. Not only has it ensured an unusual level of crop and income security for Spanish farmers -- increasing their crop yields and contributing to a 12% jump in their gross margins -- but it has simultaneously allowed them to use pesticides in a more targeted fashion. In the notoriously unpredictable business of farming, these results are making big differences -- and causing waves among farmers in other European countries who are beginning to look enviously toward the south. In France, recent news reports revealed that farmers in the southwest of the country have been defying official government opposition to the biotech crop cultivation by bringing the insect-resistant maize seed across the border from Spain. It is estimated that more than 1,000 hectares of biotech maize are being "unofficially" grown in France. The exact area is unknown, since farmers are under no legal obligation to notify authorities that they are cultivating this crop. French farmers are only following the example of their colleagues in Brazil, where, long before the government approved the planting of biotech seeds, thousands of farmers were planting biotech soy seed imported from Argentina. The practice was so widespread that by 2003 -- the year that Brazilian authorities first gave their formal permission for the seed to be grown -- biotech soy already represented between 20% and 40% of the total soy crop. In the United States in November, a significant victory was won by farmers and biotech proponents in Sonoma County, California, where, despite a huge scare campaign by anti-GMO activists, voters rejected a ban on genetically modified crops. The reason? First, there was no scientific evidence upon which to condemn these crops, and second, they had proven a boon to the local economy. In Europe, fortunately, the regulatory environment finally is moving toward greater acceptance of biotechnology. Recently, the European courts, following advice from the European Food Safety Authority, overturned a draft law banning all planting of biotech seeds in Upper Austria. Perhaps even more significantly, the Danish government, previously a consistent opponent of biotech seeds, has now decided to review each case on its merits. For them, rational decision making has replaced an entrenched political position, largely because they now realize the benefits this technology brings. Economically speaking, GM crops represent a winning proposition. Over the first nine years of commercial biotech crop cultivation, it is estimated that there was a global $27 billion increase in net farm incomes. So far, farmers have been the main direct beneficiaries of crop biotechnology, but experience in other countries shows that consumers also stand to benefit through reduced food costs and a more productive and sustainable agriculture. Biotech crops that soon will be available include soy that produces healthier oil, and tomatoes with a higher level of components that help protect against certain cancers. And while anti-GMO campaigners have worked to instill irrational fears about the safety of these foods, the biotech sector is the one of the most carefully regulated in all of industry. Biotech products must meet an exhaustive series of government-ordained regulatory requirements for environmental and human safety before they are released onto the market. Caution is commendable when it comes to new technologies -- especially those that affect something as fundamental as the food we eat. But decisions based on political expediency and excessive precaution, fed by fear-mongering propaganda, can only serve to ensure the European agricultural sector remains firmly out of step with its more modern, progressive counterparts. "Source":[ http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseaction=news&doc_id=11968&start=1&control=169&page_start=1&page_nr=101&pg=1].

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