By Martin Banks - 2nd March 2011
To realise the advantages offered by GM crops, Europeans must be able to access them
EuropaBio
A conference in parliament has been told that genetically modified crops offer "tremendous" opportunities to help achieve key EU policy goals.
The conference on Wednesday heard that while GM crops are not the "magic bullet that will solve every problem", their benefits are "by no means" limited to agriculture.
The event comes days after a parliamentary committee approved a draft law that would allow the import of animal feed contaminated with small traces of genetically modified crops.
Both the commission and parliament are expected to accept the legislation by this summer, which would mark a new approach to EU policy towards biotech food.
A policy paper by the European Association for Bioindustries (EuropaBio) was presented to Wednesday's debate on reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP).
It said that GM crops can "help Europe face the challenges that lie ahead", including Co2 emissions, energy efficiency and sustainability.
EuropaBio, the bio industry's representative body, went on, "To realise the advantages offered by GM crops, Europeans must be able to access them.
"If GM crops and derived products are part of the range of options available, farmers and consumers alike will benefit from the freedom to choose."
The organisation said, "It is commonly argued that European consumers do not want GM food, but when GM foods are put on sale, labelled as required by law, consumers do indeed buy them."
The conference, which was opened by EU health and consumer policy commissioner John Dalli, comes amid a growing debate about the value of GM crops.
For several years, the EU has been engaged in a highly political dispute about whether to continue the EU's full zero-tolerance policy toward biotech food or allow some genetically modified products which are deemed safe.
Unlike the United States, where using genetically modified crops has become a widely accepted practice, Europe has remained extremely hesitant to embrace biotech food, fearing possible negative effects on nature and consumers alike.
Consumer groups and environmentalists have argued that even trace amounts of contaminated imports were an excessive concession.
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