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Statement from Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director, Food & Water Europe

“In his new role as EU Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner, John Dalli has chosen to ignore public and scientific opinion and approve the first genetically-modified potato to be cultivated in the European Union.

“It has been 12 years since the European Commission has approved any cultivation of genetically modified (GM) products on EU soil, yet it has taken John Dalli only a few weeks to declare that ‘no new scientific issues merited further assessment.’”

“The Amflora potato is created by the German chemical company BASF. Amflora has a high content in starch and was developed for use in industrial processes, animal feed and fertilizers. However, conventional potatoes with almost identical high starch content but without antibiotic resistance genes are also available on the market. Furthermore, products from the animals fed the GM potato pulp will not require labelling under EU traceability and labelling laws.

“The European Commission decision is a contradiction in itself, as it was based on a favorable opinion from the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) regarding the use of antibiotic resistant marker (ARM) genes. This technology has been challenged by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), who, together with the World Health Organization, have warned about the “critical importance” of the antibiotics affected by the Amflora potato. Releasing BASF’s GM potato into the environment could raise bacterial resistance to life-saving medicines, including drugs used for the treatment of illnesses as devastating and potentially widespread as tuberculosis.  An EU law was adopted in 2001 requiring that antibiotic resistance genes that could pose a threat to human health and the environment be phased out by the end of 2004. BASF applied for authorization for the use of this GM crop as food and feed in 2005.

“It is also of interest that Sweden was the country that undertook the safety assessment of the GM potato, since Sweden is one of the four countries (alongside Germany, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands) where BASF plans on cultivating 250 hectares of Amflora by the end of the year.

“This is a shocking move by the new commissioner, who has decided to please the world’s biggest chemical company BASF – a company that collaborates with U.S. based Monsanto on GMOs. The commission is blatantly ignoring what 70 percent of EU citizens want, as well as scientific opinion and EU policy. This move is a slap in the face to those organizations that supported the recent transfer of “pharmaceuticals, medicines and biotechnology” from the dossier of Industry and Enterprise to that of Health and Consumer Policy.

“Pro-GM European Commission President Barroso knew exactly what he was doing when he appointed the ex-industry accountant and private financier John Dalli to the job. While Barroso was being applauded for finally moving the EU’s pharmaceutical package (previously under DG Industry) into DG SANCO’s authority, he also moved biotechnology (previously under DG Environment) under the same authority, thereby making Commissioner John Dalli the main and only obstacle for pro-GM lobbyists in the EU.

“Since the two opposing safety assessment bodies on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) – EFSA and EMA – are now placed under the same Commissioner, does the impact of their opinion hold the same validity?

“In the Barroso Commission’s proposal – a 2020 economic roadmap for Europe, it was clear that consumer opinion will take a backseat to anything labeled “innovation” or “technology.” The new decision on GM potatos makes it likely that conventional potatoes with the same high starch content as the Amflora (but without antibiotic resistant genes), will be looked down upon as “backward”. Biotech companies insist that these new innovations have much to offer Europeans, yet they have been unable to show what exactly these heralded benefits are. GM products are unnecessary when there are conventional, non-GM alternatives. It is time to realize that unnecessary risks are being taken at the expense of consumers so that BASF can make 20-30 million euros per annum on license fees for Amflora.

Food & Water Europe is the program of Food & Water Watch, (a non-profit consumer NGO based in Washington, DC), working to ensure clean water and safe food in Europe and around the world.  We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink.

Contact:

Gabriella Zanzanaini, Food & Water Europe, Brussels

+32488409662

Statement of Food & Water Europe Executive Director Wenonah Hauter

Brussels – “We welcome the ruling from a federal court in Arkansas requiring Bayer Crop Science to pay $1.5 million to two U.S. rice farmers as compensation for contamination. We are pleased to see the federal court step in to protect farmers and consumers when regulatory bodies fail.

“We hope this proves once and for all that genetically modified crops cannot ‘coexist’ with conventional crops. Bayer Crop Science has already been ordered to pay $2 million to two other farmers and three more test cases will be heard soon, including one from a rice exporter.

“This recent ruling is set against the backdrop of other U.S. court cases halting the cultivation of GM alfalfa and sugar beets because the regulators failed to adequately assess the impacts of the crops and because of potential irreversible environmental damage. The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear a case about the safety of GM seed and the U.S. Department of Justice is pursuing an anti-trust investigation of Monsanto.”

“Furthermore, U.S. rice exports to the EU are continuing to be affected by a contamination incident some three and a half years later, showing just how damaging GM crops can be. This is just more evidence that this technology is not economically or environmentally viable.”

Food and Water Europe is the program of Food and Water Watch, Inc (a non-profit consumer NGO based in Washington, DC), working to ensure clean water and safe food in Europe and around the world.  We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink.

For more information, visit http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/world/europe

Contact:

Eve Mitchell, Food and Water Europe, The Black Isle, Scotland

[email protected] +44 (0)1381 610 740

Gabriella Zanzanaini, Food and Water Europe, Brussels

[email protected], +32488409662

Statement of Food & Water Europe Executive Director Wenonah Hauter

The Black Isle, Scotland – Yesterday‚ announcement that the UK will at last have a supermarket Ombudsman to curb the economic power of retail grocery stores and to enforce the Groceries Supply Code of Practice is welcome news for suppliers and consumers. We are pleased that the Ombudsman will be given the power to respond to anonymous complaints and we look forward to a tough response to the widespread non-competitive practices that have been used by supermarket chains.

“These large chains have continued to use their unfair market power in negotiations with suppliers and small producers. Resistance from both supermarkets and the British Retail Consortium to an Ombudsman demonstrates the continued desire to put their economic interests above the best interests of customers and the economy. It is time for the retail grocery companies to drop their opposition and work with the Ombudsman for everyone‚ benefit.

“We hope the Ombudsman vigorously takes up both the arbitration of disputes between supermarkets and their suppliers and proactively investigates complaints. We are especially hopeful that the “Big Four”, who grip a disproportionate share of the market and wield considerable power over family farmers, will be investigated and their practices curbed.

“Respect for the people who produce our food is long overdue, and we hope the new Ombudsman redresses the imbalances in the marketplace created by supermarket chains that punish small suppliers and farmers.  This, in turn, should help end the race to the bottom caused when these small businesses are unable to thrive because every penny of their profit is squeezed out by the large retail grocery stores.

“Consumers should also celebrate having a champion to enforce the Code of Practice, hear complaints, and prevent the unethical practices that impact consumers. In the long term, this will result in higher quality food produced in a more sustainable way. Additionally, ethical retailers will be able to be profitable and not have to fear being driven out of business by unprincipled competitors.

For more information, visit http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/world/europe.

Contact:

Eve Mitchell, Food and Water Europe, The Black Isle, Scotland, UK
[email protected]

Gabriella Zanzanaini, Food and Water Europe, Brussels
[email protected], +32488409662

For Immediate Release
Contacts: David Wallinga, MD, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, 612-423-9666
Rich Bindell, Food & Water Watch, 202-683-2457
Rick North, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, 503-968-1520
Martin Donohoe, MD, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, martindonohoe(at)phsj(dot)org

Groups Applaud American Public Health Association for Opposition to Hormone Use in Beef and Dairy Production

Guided by the values and expertise of medicine and public health, Physicians for Social Responsibility works to protect human life from the gravest threats to health and survival. PSR is the medical and public health voice working to prevent the use or spread of nuclear weapons and to slow, stop and reverse global warming and toxic degradation of the environment. www.psr.org/chapters/oregon

IATP works locally and globally at the intersection of policy and practice to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems. Please visit www.iatp.org.

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Food & Water Europe Report questions the unseen hazards of nanotechnology

Brussels – Industries claim that nanotechnology is both good for business and good for consumers quality of life, a seemingly obvious win-win situation. Yet the less advertised risks of nanotechnology applications require close scrutiny.

The application of nanotechnology began with semiconductors, but the presence of nanomaterials in your laptop and car is not the same as ingesting it from your chocolate bar.

In its new report on the hazards of nanotechnology, released to coincide with the proposal for a Framingnano governance platform at the European Commission, Food & Water Europe believes that basic human needs such as food and water should remain nanotechnology-free, as potential harms may be much greater than the alleged benefits.

Justifying the risk taken in the use of nanomaterials by saying that everything we use contains an element of risk anyway, is a weak argument. The analogy between the risk of driving a nanotechnology powered car and that of consuming a product that we apply to our skin or swallow is over simplistic, as the nature of the risks involved in these two cases differs significantly. Given today’s immense uncertainty with respect to absorbing a nanoparticle (through ingestion or application to hair and skin), the precautionary principle should be enforced through a moratorium on all consumer products whose safety has not been proven beyond doubt.

Food & Water Europe focuses on the risks of nanotechnology applications in areas such as occupational safety, environment and consumer products while pointing out the insufficiency of existing regulations both in the United States and the European Union alike.  In the absence of meaningful regulations that would prioritize consumers safety over profit, Food & Water Europe supports the “no data no market” approach of the European Parliament’s environment committee, which includes market withdrawal of consumer products containing nanotechnology until reliable and independent safety assessments can be made.

Lawmakers need to scale back the widespread proliferation of consumer products containing nanoparticles until a robust regulatory program is in place.  In the interim, it is essential that regulators require all consumer products containing nanotechnology to be labelled (even when the production process contains less than 1 tonne of nanomaterials) and that an inventory of such products will be available to consumers through the Health and Consumer Protection Directorate General (SANCO) of the European Commission.

The application of nanotechnology takes different forms along the manufacturing chain and each individual holder only remains liable for their stage of the production and not for whatever manipulations are carried out further down the line. Taking this into account, voluntary best practice codes are insufficient; a mandatory code of conduct needs to be enforced among all parties dealing with the application of nanotechnologies.

The European Commission may be increasing its funding for nanotechnology R&D, but should not put the focus on innovation and the commerciality of nanomaterials as was previously done. More attention needs to be given to the pressing matter of risk assessment and exposure hazards of nanoparticles. When products are already on the shelves, we cannot afford a “wait-and-see” approach.

Read Food & Water Europe’s report.

Food and Water Europe is the program of Food and Water Watch, Inc (a non-profit consumer NGO based in Washington, DC), working to ensure clean water and safe food in Europe and around the world.  We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink.

For more information, visit www.foodandwaterwatch.org.
Contact: Gabriella Zanzanaini, Food and Water Europe, Brussels
[email protected], +32488409662