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From reuters:
“PARIS - Hundreds of activists marched in Paris on Tuesday ahead of the expected approval of a law they say blurs the line between natural and genetically modified (GM) foods.
The bill lays down conditions for the cultivation of GM crops in France, Europe’s largest grain producer and exporter, and creates a body to oversee GMO use. The vote is due to take place late on Tuesday or on Wednesday.
Protesters, some wearing yellow hats in the shape of maize cobs and others dressed in white suits imitating scientists, gathered near the National Assembly to voice their opposition.
“We must give consumers the choice of eating quality products, with or without GMO,” said Jean Terlon, cook at the restaurant Le Saint-Pierre in Longjumeau, close to Paris.
While GM crops are common in the United States and Latin America, France and many other European countries are dubious about using the new genetic technology in agriculture.
France banned the sole GM crop grown in the European Union, a maize (corn) developed by US biotech giant Monsanto, in February because it had serious doubts about whether it was safe for the environment. GMO cultivation is still legal, however.
The new French law, which would implement a European Union directive adopted in 2001, sets the rules a farmer has to respect to grow GM crops. These include limiting dissemination of pollen to conventional fields.
The text is criticised by pro-GMOs who say it does not go far enough and by the antis, including deputies of the ruling majority, who say changes made in exchanges between the parliament and the upper house make it too lax.
LEGAL CONTAMINATION
Approved amendments include a rate of GM dissemination to conventional crops of up to 0.9 percent, a level fiercely contested by ecologists seeking to protect France’s biodiversity and organic crops from GM contamination.
“The problem of this law is that it legalises contamination because anything with a GMO content of less than 0.9 percent can be called GMO-free,” Romain Chabrol, a spokesman of the environmental group Greenpeace France, said.
The rate in Germany was set at 0.1 percent.
French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said the new law would be the “most protective in the world”.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has repeatedly said he does not want to close the door on the technology or ban research so as to limit the number of biotech companies put off by the destruction of their outdoor experiments by activists.
French cooperative Limagrain, which has a 70 percent stake in the world’s fourth-largest seed maker Vilmorin, said this year its research unit Biogemma had moved its tests on GM crops to the United States after repeated attacks on its fields.
Such attacks would be more severely punished under the law.”
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I just spent a weekend at a farm sanctuary trying to educate the average citizen about farming practices. Granted this farm was focused particularly on livestock and factory farming, but the same excesses certainly apply to the entire industry. It’s extremely good to see people taking a stand!
Comment by lengli 05.15.08 @ 8:38 amWhen you see on the news that the ministre trying to get the law passed feed her kid organic food, you wonder why she wants to pass that law !?
Monstanto bought them again !
This chest thumping does not help. There should be scientific justification to refusal or acceptance of genetically modified foods. I don’t think calling Monsanto and other biotech companies names is the way to go in this debate. And people ought to know that genetically modified foods are not the solution to the food crisis the world is experiencing today and neither is organic foods. We need a multi-pronged approach to fighting hunger and malnutrition in the world. There are many underlying benefits of genetically modified foods. You only need to look at the rate at which the world is adopting genetically modified crops into the existing farming systems. More and more countries, especially in the developing world are planting more and more generically modified crops. They are unfazed by the noise from such organizations as the Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth.
Comment by Mwana Mwega 05.16.08 @ 10:54 amMwana : There is NO food crisis in the world , the actual food production could feed 12 billion people ( if only the food wasn’t destroyed or burried… )
Comment by Calimero 05.16.08 @ 11:33 amLeave a comment
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Congratulations, so glad you won that important vote. I live in Japan where French food is available in many supermarkets and restaurants. It has a great reputation among Japanese consumers. Keep the GMOs as far away as possible from our food supply.
Comment by Martin F 05.15.08 @ 8:20 am