Terry D. Etherton

An interesting news release from Europe came across my desk.  A group of farmers from Spain, Portugal and Romania traveled to Brussels, Belgium to convey to the European Commission that they are upset that they can not us genetically modified (GM) crops.  They urged that laws be passed to enable them to plant GM crops!

The press release follows with a link to the full report in Spanish.

Brussels, Belgium, July 13, 2010 — Farmers from Spain, Romania and Portugal presented to the members of the parliament (MPs) and representatives of the European Commission (EC) in Brussels a manifesto stating that “Biotechnology, a Tool for Agro-Food cannot be Ignored”. The manifesto points out that the rejection (by the EC) of positions and decisions about GM crops are not based in science. The report goes on to underscore that the safety of GM crops is guaranteed by the strictest and independent scientific assessment.

The  farmers pointed out that previous decisions made to not approve GM in Europe is unfair with respect to agricultural production.  The group called for scientifically-based decisions so as not to discriminate against farmers who want to grow GM crops. Spanish farmers also have attested their experiences in planting GM crops saying that the cultivation of transgenic corn yields more in a cost-effective way with higher quality and using less resource. These technologies which are available in other parts of the world should be enjoyed by other farmers in the European Union.

See the full report in Spanish at:

http://fundacion-antama.org/consumidores-cientificos-agricultores-y-empresas-espanolas-piden-en-bruselas-un-acceso-mas-justo-a-los-cultivos-transgenicos-y-tecnologicos/.