Commission lets GMOs loose
Borg wants to impose new GMOs to the EU
Only a few months before being replaced, it seems that the EU Commission has decided to impose new GMOs on to its citizens who by and large do not want them.
Tomorrow, on the 6th November, Commissioner for Health and Consumers, Tonio Borg, will propose 3 devastating measures to his fellow Commissioners:
1.
The authorisation to grow a new GMO maize, the 1st since 1998. This maize produces a Bt insecticide toxin that may represent a threat to EU butterflies species, and EFSA itself has recognised that it cannot assess its impacts on bees and other pollinators. This maize is also tolerant to a toxic herbicide, glufosinate ammonium, but this trait has not even been assessed because the herbicide is supposedly prohibited to be used on maize!
2.
The authorisation to import the infamous Smartstax (and Powercore) GMO maize, for food and feed uses. Smartstax carries 6 different insecitcide genes and 2 herbicide tolerant genes, making it a toxic cocktail of insecitcides and herbicides that will end up on our plates. The combined effects of all these toxins have not been assessed at all.
3.
The authorisation of GMO maize MON810 in pollen. More than 10 years after it has been allowed for growing, the EU Commission seems to suddenly realise that this GMO maize may contaminate honey. This decision is the first step towards legalising GMO contamination of honey without informing consumers. Indeed, the Commission is simultaneously proposing to change the honey directive in order to make sure any GMO contamination of honey will be unknown to consumers.
The Commission could not have made it worse to demonstrate that it is ready to favour biotech companies, mainly from the US, against protecting the environment and health of EU consumers. All these GMOs that it proposes to authorise have specific problems and have been very poorly assessed and are testimonies of the failures of the authorisation process. There is no doubt that EU citizens will feel betrayed by these EU institutions that should protect them and consider their constant rejection of these products for more than 20 years.
