In
This Issue:
EC ADOPTS
LEGISLATION TO REGULATE GMOS
The European
Commission adopted a legislative package on genetically modified
organisms (GMOs). It establishes a sound community system to trace
and label GMOs and to regulate the placing on the market and labeling
of food and feed products derived from GMOs. The new legislation
provides a trustworthy and environmentally safe approach to GMOs,
food and GM feed.
Prior
to the deliberation of the package, David Byrne, European Commissioner
for Health and Consumer Protection, remarked that "the new laws
regulating GMOs in Europe will significantly improve the information
available to consumers on GMOs and give them the possibility to make
an informed choice." The adoption of the proposals was expected
to contribute towards the lifting of the de facto moratorium on the
commercial release of GMOs and the standstill on the authorizations
of GMOs and GM products in Europe. Market access of these products
will likewise be facilitated.
The package
consists of a proposal for two basic issues. One is for traceability
and labeling of GMOs and products produced from GMOs. The second
is on regulating GM food and feed. It will require the traceability
of GMOs throughout the chain from farm to table and provide consumers
with information by labeling all food and feed consisting of, containing
or produced from a GMO.
It will
establish a "one door one key" procedure for the authorization
of GMOs for food and feed, including the deliberate release into
the environment. This procedure will consist of a single scientific
assessment, carried out by the scientific committees of the European
Food Authority. The new system ensures a tight and stringent regulatory
framework on the use of GMOs in Europe and closes existing legal
gaps addressing legitimate concerns of the economic operators. It
meets the requests by Member States governments, the European Parliament
and consumer organizations and has been drafted in close dialogue
with all stakeholders and Member States.
The proposals
will be co-decided with the European Parliament and the Council and
when approved will be put into force in 2003. The labeling provisions
for food and feed will be reviewed after two years of operation.
Two other proposals relating to GM seed will be submitted later this
year.
Environmental
Commissioner Margot Wallstrom said that "the provisions for
traceability ensure a high level of environmental and health protection
and pace the way for a proper labeling system. ....there is a cost
for the producers and for trade, but what is at stake is our ability
to build public confidence. European companies will only be able
to seize the opportunities provided by biotechnology if this confidence
is established."
SCIENTISTS MAP
BACTERIUM GENOME
A team
of scientists from the US and seven European and Canadian institutions
has decoded the genome of Sinorhizobium meliloti, an important
agricultural bacterium. This microorganism has the ability to transform
atmospheric nitrogen into other chemicals, hence its potential in
helping crops reduce their use of nitrogen-based fertilizers.
S.
meliloti is one of several symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria
known an Rhizobia that live in the roots of legumes like peas,
beans, soybeans, peanuts, alfalfa and clover. Improved understanding
of Rhizobia-legume symbiosis has implications for sustainable agriculture.
It is the scarcity of usable nitrogen that frequently limits plant
growth.
Work on
sequencing the DNA of the bacterium began in 1998. Results of the
complete map of the S. meliloti genome appear in the July
27 issue of Science.
WORLD LEADERS
SUPPORT BIOTECH
US President
George W. Bush, in a speech before the World Bank, sees the need
for biotechnology. He stated that "the world also needs to begin
realizing the enormous potential of biotechnology to help end hunger." Quoting
the United Nations Development Report, he noted "the need to
move forward based on sound science, to bring these benefits to 800
million people, including 300 million children, who still suffer
from hunger and malnutrition."
Also sharing
this view was Girolamo Sirchia, Italy's Health Minister. He told
a biotechnology conference in Rome that public institutions must
work on "disoriented public opinion" to underline the benefits
of biotechnology. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, in a pre-conference
letter to delegates of this conference organized by Assobiotec, stressed
that it was his task to give the public guarantees that "the
rights of all are to be respected ad defended" in relation to
biotechnology advances.
BRAZIL MIGHT
PERMIT GM CROPS
The Brazilian
government issued a relatively permissive labeling requirement for
food that contains genetically modified ingredients. This development
signals the possibility for Brazil to permit GM crops. President
Fernando Henrique Cardoso issued a decree that as of December 31,
2000 products with GM content must identify its ingredients that
surpasses 4% of the product's volume.
Edmundo
Klotz, president of the Brazilian Food Industry Association, said
that this decree is a "green light to invest in biotechnology
research." At the moment, farmers are not allowed to grow GM
crops although the government permits some imports of GM corn.
EPA SIGNS
BIOTECH RULES
Christine
Todd Whitman, administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency,
signed three final rules for the oversight of "plant-incorporated
protectants." The EPA under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide
and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and under the Federal Food, Drug and
Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) will regulate plant-incorporated protectants
(PIPs) derived from biotech to protect human health.
A process
of scientific consultation and public comment was pursued prior to
the finalization of the rules. The framework of rules, according
to Whitman, allows the EPA's "current system of rigorous scientific
evaluation to continue."
Generically
engineered PIPs, i.e., Bacillus thuringiensis, will be required
to meet federal safety standards through a rigorous process similar
to herbicides and insecticides. Protectants added through non-biotech
means will be exempt from the FIFRA and FFDCA requirements but manufacturers
would still be required to report any potential adverse affects should
they occur.
More detailed
information on the rules can be obtained from www.epa.gov.
Meanwhile
in other developments, EPA was cited as saying that Bt corn that
is genetically engineered to make its own pesticide poses little
risk to monarch butterflies. It added that while there is a small
chance that one in 100,000 monarch caterpillars could be affected
by toxic corn pollen, research suggests even those larvae will mature
into healthy butterflies.
CHINESE SCIENTISTS:
HASTEN BIOTECH PROCESS
Scientists
in China are urging their government to hasten the application of
biological technologies in agriculture to effectively deal with challenges
in the sector. Chen Zhangliang, vice president of Peking University,
stated in an international agricultural workshop in Beijing, that
officials should attend to making regulations and providing supervision
over its implementation. "Only cutting edge technologies, including
genetic modification methods, are solutions to both production efficiency
and the environment," he stressed.
While
conceding that China would be able to maintain a 40-50% increase
in food consumption in the next 30 years, Chen qualified that it
would suffer from a decline in arable land, water shortage, rapid
population increase and less efficient irrigation systems. He added
that scientists have been able to make impressive achievements in
biological technology research.
AUSTRALIA SEES
NO PRICE PREMIUM FROM NON-GM CANOLA
Conventionally
produced crops like canola are generally not commanding price premiums
over genetically modified agricultural products. Ian Baker, business
development of Cargill Australia, told participants in a New South
Wales Farmers Association annual conference that "Australia
has been able to derive little if any benefit from our non-GM status
for canola over our major international competitor, Canada, where
over 75% of their production is from varieties using biotechnology."
Canada
is the world's leading exporter of canola which produces GM crops
but Australia, the world's second largest exporter, is GM-free but
presently conducting field trials for GM crops. Baker noted that
there was no blockage to the sale of GM canola into Japan, China
and Asia, where seed from Australia was generally blended with Canadian
seed. While the sale of GM canola is restricted in the European market,
Baker clarified that premiums would only be achievable when processors
or consumers could see additional value in new food product varieties.
UK GOVERNMENT
ANNOUNCES GM CROP TRIALS
Twenty-six
proposed sites in England have been identified for the next round
of its Farm Scale Evaluation (FSE) of genetically modified herbicide
tolerant crops, specifically GM oilseed rape. Sowing is expected
to commence August 20 through mid September 2001.
The proposed
sites are being announced one month before planting to enable the
public to be aware of these developments.
The UK
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says that it will
assess the proposed sites and will consider the local conditions
against the original risk assessment in the consent for the oilseed
rape crop. Assessments will be made available in its website at www.defra.gov.uk.
During
the Farm-Scale Evaluation, scientists will study the effects on wildlife
of the use by farmers of specific herbicides associated with the
GM crops compared with their conventional equivalents. Commercial
growing of GM crops will only be allowed when the FSEs are completed
and only then if the crops and associated farming practices are assessed
as causing no unacceptable effects on the environment. |
