It was business as usual at a meeting in March in London where Jack Bobo, senior biotechnology adviser to the U.S. State Department, was still trying to sell GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, to Europe. He said that “it will take a crisis to make everyone [in Europe] see the point of GM. There will be a move from not liking GM to requiring it.” He argued that GM techniques could deliver improved yields and reduce the use of pesticides, greenhouse gas emissions and soil erosion, arguments that have already been proven false in the U.S.
Bobo also warned that when rejecting GMOs, Europe should be aware of “the consequences of technology choices,” because Europe depends on food imports, especially from Brazil, and that the “extra land mass needed to feed Europe was about the size of Germany.”1
Some sources report that the food crisis in Europe of 2007-2008 was driven by speculation, artificially inflated markets and political manipulation, all intended to influence the opinion of citizens in Europe positively towards GMOs. That sea change still has not occurred. But since that time, stockpiles of grains and cereals are sufficient to prevent another such crisis in the near future.2
GMO crops in the U.S. have failed miserably to increase yields, perform in drought situations or tame pesky weeds and pests. The Union of Concerned Scientists, in their report, “Failure to Yield: Evaluating the Performance of Genetically Engineered Crops,” found that yields of corn and soy have not increased any more than conventional crops; there is an advantage of only 3-4 percent in insect resistance; and, by comparison, non-GMO crops have increased yields of 13-25 percent. They say that:
GE crops have received huge investments of public and private research dollars since their introduction. Yet their minimal gains in yield stand in sharp contrast with the past gains and future potential of a suite of alternatives that require more modest initial investment and risk fewer potentially adverse impacts.
To read the full report, visit www.ucsusa.org.3
But that doesn’t keep U.S. officials from the commitment to the biotech industry, to forcing GMOs down the collective throat of European nations at every opportunity through threats, law suits, and underhanded activities, even though Europeans, through the individual nation states, continue to vigorously reject and resist them.
The Guardian, a British newspaper, reported in January 2011 an updated story about the “Wiki Leaks” which revealed the contents of U.S. Embassy cables, among them a cable drawing up a list of countries for “retaliation” over refusal of GM products in Europe, particularly in France.4
Craig Roberts Stapleton, U.S. Ambassador to France from 2005 to 2009, worked to promote the agenda of Monsanto and other biotechnology companies during the George Bush, Jr., administration— both by force and “retaliation.” The cable revealed the following correspondence between Stapleton and the White House regarding GMO acceptance:
Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits.
The list should be measured rather than vicious and must be sustainable over the long term, since we should not expect an early victory. Moving to retaliation will make clear that the current path has real costs to EU interests and could help strengthen European pro-biotech voices. 4
The Bush support of GMOs was nothing new for the White House. Bill Clinton also did his part for the biotech industry. In fact, Bush and Clinton showed their support when they gave the keynote speech at the 2010 BIO International Convention. Barack Obama clearly supports the biotech industry through his major administrative appointments.4 Bush and Clinton both used the powers inherent in the presidency to promote the GMO position with their European colleagues.
But Europeans are keenly aware of GM foods encroaching on their shopping carts and are seriously opposed to GM foods on their dinner plates. Most European countries belong to the European Union (EU) and non-members such as Switzerland, Iceland and Norway coordinate their internal legislation with EU laws.
While the media in the U.S. have “dropped the ball” on informing the public about GMOs, the European press has been very active over the years in alerting European citizens to the health consequences and dangers of GM products. In February 1999 alone, the British press published over seven hundred articles on GMOs.5
European Union citizens, along with over fifty countries, including China and Russia, require labeling of GM food products. The citizens of those countries have the right to choose between GMO and GMO-free products because of their countries’ labeling requirements. However GMO traces below .9 percent are exempt from labeling. Nevertheless, because of this requirement, many manufacturers have excluded GMOs from their products. Meat products from animals raised on GM feed do not have to be labeled.6 The EU requirements for GMOs have included a rigorous testing program.8
Currently Mon 810 Bt maize (developed by Monsanto) and the Amflora starch potato (developed by BASF) are approved for cultivation in the EU. The GMO Safety Database located on the European Union webpages may be searched for research articles on the development of GM maize, rapeseed, potato and sugar beet and their impact on the environment.9
HISTORY OF A GMO-FREE EU
More than twelve years ago the EU declared a moratorium against growing GMO products. However, the bans were declared illegal in a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel ruling in 2006, following a case brought by the U.S., Canada and Argentina. The EU pressured its member states to revoke their bans and the moratorium was lifted, but individual states voted against the EU governing body and their bans remain in place.10
In 2010, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovenia and the Netherlands wrote a joint paper requesting from the EU governance that individual countries have the right to decide whether to cultivate GM crops.11
France, Greece, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Poland, Luxembourg and Romania have declared themselves GMO-free. Maps of GMO-free zones in Europe and details about their GMO current and past history, legislation and organization can be found at www.gmo-free-regions.org.12
Hungary and Poland ban the sale of any GMO seeds. Italy has a ban on the cultivation of all GMO crops as does Switzerland, whose citizens voted by referendum for a five-year moratorium on GM crops and animals, extended until 2013.13
In some countries, such as Slovenia, specific communities have declared themselves “GMO- free,” while in Germany, 198 regions, 235 municipalities, and 29,836 farmers declared themselves “GMO-free.” Spain, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belgium, the Baltic States and others have not made any declarations regarding their GMO status.14
Of the new countries looking for EU entry, Croatia was under pressure in 2001 from the United States to drop a law banning GMOs. The intimidation by the U.S. was successful in stopping the ban, but Croatia later passed legislation banning GMOs in specific areas such as those designated for eco-tourism or organic agriculture. 15
Although GMO companies have products approved by the EU and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)—the EU’s counterpart to the U.S. FDA—it is up to the individual states to allow the use of those products because of legislation passed in July 2011, when the European Parliament voted to allow its member states to decide whether or not to ban GMO crops.16 In the end it is up to the individual farmer.
FRANCE AND GMOs
France and her citizens have a long and stormy hate-affair with GMOs. In 2008, France banned GM maize (corn) following public protests against it. But this ban was overturned by a French court in 2011. However, in March of that year, the French government reinstated the ban, “to protect the environment.”17
In 2009, Monsanto was found guilty of false advertising by France’s highest court for claims that its trade pesticide Roundup (glyphosate) is biodegradable and leaves “the soil clean.” Monsanto announced in June 2012 that it will abandon its program to sell GMO maize in France despite the decision of the French Court that overturned the ban in November 2011.17
The French court noted that Roundup’s active ingredient, glyphosate, is in fact dangerous for the environment, persists in the soil, and is toxic for aquatic organisms, yet Monsanto continues to market Roundup as environmentally friendly and biodegradable. Both claims have been proven false.17 In February 2012, a French court ordered Monsanto to compensate a farmer, Paul François, who suffered herbicide poisoning from inhalation of Monsanto’s product Lasso, which had been previously banned in Canada, Britain and Belgium.17
HUNGARY
In February 2012 over one thousand acres of Monsanto corn found growing throughout the country were ordered destroyed by the Hungarian government. GM seeds are banned in Hungary. Despite the ban, controllers have found Pioneer and Monsanto seeds among those planted.18 Since September 2006 Hungary has banned the cultivation of Monsanto’s maize MON 810, and since 2010 has banned the Amflora potato as well, and filed a suit at the European Court of Justice against its approval.19
AUSTRIA
Since 1999 Austria has banned GMO maize and rapeseed used to make canola oil. The EU Commission, the governing body of the EU, has tried to overrule this ban but EU member states have twice backed the Austrians, and the country remains a GMO-free zone. Austria released a report on three studies claiming that Monsanto corn reduces fertility, but Monsanto has long arms. Under pressure, the government withdrew the studies.19
THE LISBON TREATY, THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AND GMOs
The Lisbon Treaty, which amended all prior treaties, and the re-writing of the EU Constitution, seemed to precede this change in the EU outlook on GMOs. The treaty, signed in 2007, and the subsequent new constitution, declared personhood for corporations and did not require the vote of the people. It took power away from the elected parliament and placed it with the EU Commission, headed by an appointed commissioner or president, who, acting through EFSA, has set out on a path to approve GM crops with alacrity.25
The Commission and EFSA are challenging legislation and regulations long in place regarding the steps necessary to allow GMOs into the food chain (EC regulation. 1829/2003). Following the FDA’s lead, EFSA has recently authorized the GMO soy bean, acting on its own and violating regulations. They concluded, as the FDA has, that the Monsanto Intacta GMO soybean is safe and equivalent to the conventional bean for use in food and feed. The European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER), the Society for Ecological Research, the Manfred-Hermsen-Stiftung Foundation for Nature Conservation and Environmental Protection, the Foundation on Future Farming, and the non-profit organization Sambucus have all challenged this decision in the European Court of Justice.26
The current president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, from Portugal, is a lawyer with a Masters of Science in Economics and Social Sciences.. He did research for a PhD at Georgetown University and is a graduate of the Georgetown Leadership Seminar. Barroso is a strong supporter of GMOs. He was also part of the group of four that included George Bush, Jr. and Tony Blair, another avid supporter of GMOs, who in 2003 agreed to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and enlisted Portugal to supply troops for the invasion and occupation. 27
Barroso was “at the heart of the EU’s pro- GM lobby,” and “. . . was trying to get member states to agree on GMOs behind closed doors, so that there are no more unqualified majorities.” At the time, he was reportedly trying to lift the EU’s “zero tolerance” policy on GMOs, a goal which he is on the verge of achieving.28
One of the Barroso’s first acts upon election to the EU Presidency in 2004 was to flout the consensus of the European people and European nation states and break the moratorium imposed in 1998 on GMO crops by approving the Amflora potato, without any meeting or consensus, based on an opinion of EFSA.29
Despite that decision, Peter Eckes, president of the chemical giant BASF which developed the Amflora GM potato, announced this year that the company is relocating its “Plant Science Division” from Europe to the U.S. because of the “hostility of the European public to GM products.” BASF is also “cancelling the development and commercialization of all projects destined solely for the European market.” 30
The GM potato, created by German chemical giant BASF, is not intended for human consumption. It has been developed to produce higher levels of starch utilized in industries like paper manufacturing.
Austria said it would outlaw growing the potato, and Italian Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia said he planned to “defend and safeguard traditional agriculture and citizens’ health.” The environmental group Greenpeace said the GM potato contains a gene that confers resistance to certain antibiotics. “It could raise bacterial resistance to life-saving medicines, including drugs used for the treatment of tuberculosis,” says Greenpeace E.U. agriculture policy director Marco Contiero. “This is an unacceptable risk to human and animal health as well as to the environment.” 31
GMOs IN POLAND
In March 2012 the Polish Beekeepers Association organized a protest, joining forces with the International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC) and the Coalition for a GMO-Free Poland, calling for a ban on all GMO crops and harmful pesticides in Poland.
Sir Julian Rose of the UK and his Polish partner, Jadwiga Lopata, are actively involved in the ICPPC efforts.
More than fifteen hundred beekeepers marched through the streets of Warsaw to the steps of the Ministry of Agriculture, where they deposited thousands of dead bees. Not long after this graphic demonstration, the Minister of Agriculture announced that he would ban Mon810, Monsanto’s GMO corn, in Poland. This GMO crop has been linked to the mysterious death of bees across the world.32
In 2008, the Polish government acted to ban planting and importing GM animal feeds, but the European Commission, the governing body of the EU (European Union) of which Poland is a member, refused to accept the ban.32
THE FATE OF GMO RESEARCH IN EUROPE
After the release of the study by Dr. Gilles- Eric Séralini, which clearly documented that GM corn NK603 causes cancer and early mortality in lab rats, the GMO lobby and the European Commission jumped quickly and aggressively to the microphone to declare that it failed to meet “acceptable” scientific standards, even though the study was more rigorous than those done by Monsanto on the same corn. They and other biotech groups quickly elevated the results of the study to “controversial.” Graphic photos of the huge tumors on the rats in the study did nothing to convince them otherwise.33
The results, which were published in the peer-reviewed journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, described the effects of the GMO corn diet on rats for a two-year period, nearly their entire lifespan. Most other feeding studies with this corn included only ninety-day trials. Upon release of this news Russia banned the GMO corn.33
The same tactics had been used by the British government to discredit and humiliate Dr. Arpad Pusztai of the Rowett Institute in Scotland, who was suspended and fired after determining that lectins in the GM potato damaged the gut and immune system of rats. His results triggered reactions in high places in government, up to the office of Prime Minister Tony Blair. Jeffrey M. Smith, the Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology and one of the world’s leading opponents of GMO foods, writes a full account of the Arpad Pusztai story in his book Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You’re Eating (2003), also available in Kindle format.
Dr. Pusztai found that the GM rats had smaller and less-developed testicles, brains and livers. Others had organs which were swollen, such as the pancreas and intestines. The rats developed these problems after only ten days on the GM corn. His results were announced to the media in August 1998. Shortly afterwards, he was put under a gag order not to talk about his research. His colleagues support him but he was still subjected to questioning in Parliament.34
COURAGE TO BAN GMOs IN SOUTH AMERICA
On other fronts, the Congress of Peru has just passed a ten-year ban on GMOs. The legislature is concerned that “the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will compromise the native species of Peru, such as the giant white corn, purple corn and of course, the species of Peruvian potatoes.” Anibal Huerta, President of Peru’s Agrarian Commission, said the ban was needed to prevent the “danger that can arise from the use of biotechnology.” But at the time of the ban, the Peruvian Association of Consumers and Users (ASPEC) established that 77 percent of supermarket products are contaminated with GMOs.35 But, reports GMO Compass, Brazil and Argentina are the second and third largest producers of Roundup Ready soybeans in the world after the U.S., followed by China, India and Paraguay.36
GMOs are already so entrenched in products in the Americas that it would be “virtually impossible to truly and completely block them, whether through pollination or being sneaked in as processed foods,” said representatives of the Association of Consumers in Peru.35
Thus, through trade with the U.S., GMO products are insidiously distributed throughout the world and onto the shelves of food emporia in those countries. Because products containing GMOs are not labeled, consumers in other countries buying those products are unaware that they are inadvertently purchasing and consuming
GMOs. RAPIDLY CRUMBLING
The European Union has reached a “tipping point” in its stand on GMOs. Although the EU has been a holdout against genetically engineered crops and foods, that stand is rapidly crumbling. Around twenty-six GM crops could soon be approved by the EU Commission, around nineteen of them genetically engineered Roundup Ready (glyphosate) crops.37
Member States remain steadfast in their anti-GMO convictions but the European Commission is now taking unprecedented steps to approve more GM products. Monsanto and other biotech companies have long arms and an immense payroll. Through changes in treaties and the constitution, corporations have received unprecedented rights and it is possible that the presidency can be extended for an unlimited time. Under two-term President José Borroso, GMO applications are finding a swift and direct path to approval.
At present member states have the right to reject GMOs and keep them out of their countries, but who knows how long this right will be upheld? Will the battle over GMOs be the determining factor in the continuing membership of some states in the European Union by those members that today remain “GMO-free”? Only time will tell.
SIDEBAR
MONSANTO’S GMO CORN
Monsanto’s Mon 810 Bt maize was approved from the EU in 1998 through 2007, but Monsanto had a rough road selling the crop to farmers. Hungary, France, Austria, Germany, Greece and Luxembourg banned it because of health and environmental concerns.20
Those countries evoked a clause in EU law which permits such bans if new scientific evidence regarding safety arises. Directive 90/220, Article 16, of the EU Constitution, the “safeguard clause,” allows member states to “provisionally restrict or prohibit the use and sale of a product when a Member State has justifiable reasons to consider that a product . . . constitutes a risk to human health or the environment.”21
Monsanto chose to sue Germany in 2009 because of that country’s ban and threatened that others might be next: “We reserve the right to challenge any actions taken arbitrarily that would deny farmers access to technologies that can contribute to a more sustainable agriculture,” a Monsanto official said, and that “any future legal action would be determined on a case-by-case basis.”22
Today this maize is cultivated mostly in Spain, a country whose officials have continued a love affair with GMO crops since the George Bush, Jr., days. In other countries where Mon Bt corn has been cultivated, the number of hectares in cultivation has declined.23
An application for renewal of the approval on Monsanto’s Bt corn has been submitted to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the equivalent of the U.S. FDA. EFSA recently announced that it found no reason not to reapprove Mon 810 on the basis of new safety research.24
REFERENCES
1. Stone, M. “Food Crisis needed for Europe to accept GM: US government adviser.” March 1, 2013. Food manufacture.co.uk. http://bit.ly/ZbKpLt
2. McMichael, P. “The World Food Crisis in Historical Perspective.” Monthly Review; 2009: 61(3) July-August. Monthlyreview.org/2009/07/01/the-worldfood-crisis-in-historical-perspective.
3. The Union of Concerned Scientists, in their report, “Failure to Yield: Evaluating the Performance of Genetically Engineered Crops,” www.ucsusa.org
4. “WikiLeaks: U.S. Wanted Trade War over GM Crops”. CBS News. January 4, 2011. http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-202_162-7211185.html; “US targets EU over GM crops.” http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/03/wikileaks-us-eu-gm-crops WikiLeaks: US targets EU over GM crops; Reuters. “Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush Address Global Issues and Biotechnology Applications at 2010 BIO InternationalConvention Keynote” May 4, 2010. http://www.reuters.com/article/ 2010/05/05/idUS17179+05-May-2010+BW2010050
5. Smith, J.M. Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies about the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You’re Eating. Fairfield: Yes Books. 2003;Onusic, S. “The Current Status of GMOs in Europe.” Farm-to-Consumer-Legal Defense-Fund.. Sept 19, 2012. http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/news_wp/?p=1752
6. Just Label It. Press Room. Accessed May 1, 2013. http://justlabelit.org/press-room/.
7. “Seeds of Deception. Excerpts from the book by Jeffrey Smith.” Third World Traveler.http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Food/Seeds_Of_Deception.html
8. Davison, John. “GM plants: Science, politics and EC regulations.” Plant Science, Vol. 178, Issue 2, Feb. 2010, pp. 94-98 [DOI:10.1016/j.plantsci.2009.12.005]
9. GMO Safety. “Bt maize approval, cultivation and coexistence.” August 24, 2012 http://www.gmosafety.eu/basic-info/564.maize-approval-cultivationcoexistence.html
10. EurActiv. “EU ban was illegal, WTO rules.” May 12, 2006.http://www.euractiv.com/trade/eu-gmo-banillegal-wto-rules-news-216529
11. “Regulation of GMOs in Europe.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_of_genetically_modified_organisms_in_the_European_Union. Accessed May 2, 2013.
12. GMO Free Regions. Accessed May 1, 2013 www.gmo-free-regions.org
13. Greenpeace. “Switzerland stands strong against GE.” March 9, 2010. www.greenpeace.org/international/en/new/features/switzerland-GMO-moratorium090310.
14. GMO Free Europe 2012. “Slovenia.” Accessed May 1, 2013 www.gmo-free-regions.org//gmo-free-regions/slovenia.html; “Germany.” http://www.gmo-freeregions.org/gmo-free-regions/germany.html.
15. Jost M. “Impact of Agricultural Biotechnology on Environment and Food Security.” Scientific Review. http://www.pfos.hr/~poljo/sites/default/data/2003_2/2_JOST.pdfPaper presented at the 2002 UWE Conference: Environment Protection and Health-What Can We Do in the 21st Century. Dubrovnik, 11-13 October, 2002.
16. EPHA. “MEPs want EU countries to be able to ban GMOs on environmental grounds” http://www.epha.org/a/4435
17. French court orders Monsanto to compensate herbicide-poisoned farmer. Accessed Feb 12, 2012. http://www.gmo-free-regions.org/gmo-free-regions/france/gmo-freenews-from-france/news/en/25228.html; Mercola.com. “New Evidence against These Cancer-Causing Foods – And the Massive Cover-Up Effort.” June 9, 2012. http://mercola.com/articles/archive/2012/06/09/monsanto-roundup-found-to-be-carcinogenic.aspx?ecid=20120609_DNL_art_1
18. True Activist. “Hungary Destroys All Monsanto GMO Corn Fields.” Feb 10, 2012.
http://www.trueactivist.com/hungary-destroys-all-monsanto-gmo-corn-fields/
19. GMO-free regions by country. Accessed May 2013.http://www.gmo-free-regions.org/gmo-free-regions.html gmo-free-Europe
20. Engdahl WF. Seeds of Destruction. The Hidden Agenda of Genetic Manipulation. Global Research, 2007.
21. Official Journal of the European Committee. C 113 E/30. April 18, 2001. http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2001:113E:0030:0031:EN:PDF
22. Reuters. “Monsanto sues Germany over GMO ban.” April 21, 2009. www.reuters.com/article/2009/04/21/monsanto-idUSLL62523620090421
23. GMO compass. “Field area for Bt maize decreases.” May 8 2013. http://bit.ly/krGVD8
24. GMO Compass. GMO Safety. Accessed May 2013. http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/gmo/db/127.docu.html
25. La Leva di Archimede. ‘The Myth of a GMO Free Europe.” November 2012. www.laleva.org/eng/2012/11/the_myth_of_a_gmo-free_european_union.html 1/5
26. Test Bio Tech. “Lawsuit filed against EU authorization of genetically engineered soybeans.” March 21, 2013. http://www.testbiotech.org/en/node/781
27. Manuel Barroso. Wikipedia. Accessed May 2013. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Manuel_Barroso
28. Alliance for National Health. “Signs of Turning Tide Against GMO Crops?”http://anh-europe.org/news/signs-of-turning-tide-against-gm-crops?utm_source=The+Alliance+for+Natural+Health&utm_campaign=05d14b0d4c-120822_ANH_Intl_e_Alert_No_1118_22_2012)
29. “Commission authorizes controversial GMO potato.” March 2010. www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/en/News/2010/Commission-authorises-GMO-potato/
30. Onusic S. “Current Status of GMOs in Europe.” Farm-to Consumer Legal Defense Fund. December 19, 2012. http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/news_wp/?p=1752
31. Cendrowicz L. Time. “Is Europe Finally Ready for Genetically Modified Foods?” March 9, 2010. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1970471,00.html
32. Anada R. Food Freedom News. “Poland’s Monsanto action lays 1000’s of dead bees on government steps.” Mar 22, 2012 food Freedom News http://foodfreedomgroup.com/2012/03/22/319
33. Vidal, J. “Study Linking GM maize to cancer must be taken seriously by regulators.” Sept. 28, 2012. www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/28/study-gm-maizecancer;“ Russia bans GMO corn over cancer fears as pressure builds on Monsanto.” October 1, 2012. http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/europe/item/13050-russia-bans-gmo-corn-over-cancer-fears-as-pressure-builds-on-monsanto
34. Ewen, S.W.B. and Pusztai, A. (1999a) “Effect of diets containing genetically modified potatoes expressing Galanthus nivalis lectin on rat small intestine.” The Lancet
354: 1353-1354; and Smith, JM. Seeds of Deception. Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You’re Eating. Yes Books 2003.
35. “Peru Passes Monumental Ban on Genetically Engineered Foods.” White Wolf Pack.November 26, 2012. http://www.whitewolfpack.com/2012/11/peru-passes-monumental-ten-year-ban-on.html
36. GMO Compass. “Soybeans.” May 11, 2013. http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/grocery_shopping/crops/19.genetically_modified_soybean.html
37. La Leva di Archimede. “The Myth of a GMO free Europe.” November 2012. www.laleva.org/eng/2012/11/the_myth_of_a_gmo-free_european_union.html 1/5.
This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Summer 2013.
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Well, surely “European Union citizens have the right to choose between GMO and GMO-free products”. But currently GM crops, developed by Monsanto and approved for cultivation in the very Ukraine, do not have to be labeled because of chaos, prevailed there now.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/land-grab-in-ukraine-is-monsantos-backdoor-to-eu-agriculture-spells-ruin-for-europes-farmers/5441245
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1239314
And as current Ukraine becomes the major grain exporter for the EU, Monsanto’s poisonous foods, for instance, for beef cattle may easily appeared in Europe. And then we’ll have to eat the meat products from these animals…
Thus, GMO-FREE EUROPE is only a MYTH, pals!