Europe Lists First Transgenic Seeds in Catalogue of Varieties

BRUSSELS, Belgium, September 8, 2004 (ENS) - The European Commission today approved the inscription of 17 varieties genetically modified seeds in the Common EU Catalogue of Varieties of Agricultural Plant Species, the first time that transgenic varieties have been entered into the catalogue. Once listed, the seed varieties can be sold to farmers across the European Union.

Friends of the Earth, Europe's largest grassroots environmental network, condemned the move, saying the seeds take away consumers' right to avoid genetically modified food.

Widespread public concern about genetically modified foods in Europe has led to consumer protests and the banning of such foods in eight countries through the late 1990s until this year.

The 17 varieties are all derived from Monsanto's MON 810 maize, or corn, trade name YieldGard.

A Monsanto field of YieldGard corn in the Czech Republic (Photo courtesy Monsanto)

Cry1Ab is insecticidal only to lepidopteran insects, and its specific action is due to the presence of specific binding sites in the guts of target insects. There are no such binding sites on the surface of mammalian intestinal cells, so livestock animals and humans are not susceptible to these proteins.

This genetically modified maize has been authorized under EU legislation since 1998.

European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection David Byrne said, "The inscription in the EU Seed Catalogue is a logical step as the EU regulatory framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is now up to date."

"The maize has been thoroughly assessed to be safe for human health and environment. It has been grown in Spain for years without any known problems," said Byrne. "It will be clearly labelled as GM maize to allow farmers a choice.”

The destructive corn borer in two stages of life (Photo courtesy Monsanto)

Byrne said that Monsanto, the authorization holder of MON 810, provided a monitoring plan which was positively evaluated by the Scientific Committee on Plants and approved by EU member states in the Regulatory Committee.

But Friends of the Earth has called on European governments to use EU law to ban the seed varieties. The organization says the inscription in the catalogue will allow farmers to commercially grow up to 17 different types of genetically modified maize seeds in fields across the whole of Europe.

Geert Ritsema of Friends of the Earth campaigns against transgenic foods in Germany. (Photo courtesy Face it! )

Ritsema pointed out that only Denmark has so far put in place "co-existence" measures aimed at preventing the uncontrolled spread of GMOs in the food chain and the environment. "Without coexistence rules the widespread contamination of conventional crops is highly likely, posing a massive threat to Europe's food, farming and environment."

The Commission's inscription of the GM seed in the catalogue may contradict a resolution adopted by the European Parliament in December 2003. The Parliament called on the Commission and EU member states "not to proceed with the approval of the release of any further genetically modified varieties of plants until such time as binding rules on coexistence, backed up by a system of liability based firmly on the 'polluter pays' principle, have been agreed and implemented."

Critics of transgenic foods are concerned that they might trigger allergies and other health problems in consumers. In addition, they may cross-pollinate conventional or organic plants, against the wishes of other farmers.