By Martin Banks - 9th March 2010
Public opinion is massively against genetically modified crops
Ian Hudghton
A row has flared in parliament following the commission's decision to allow a genetically modified potato to be grown in some EU countries.
This month's decision comes after a 13-year campaign by the German chemical company BASF.
But commission president José Manuel Barroso was jeered when he sought to defend the move during a lively parliamentary Q&A session in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
MEPs, some of whom held up posters which read "For a GMO-free Europe", said the commission had "failed to follow proper parliamentary procedure" by not consulting the assembly before reaching its decision.
SNP deputy Ian Hudghton, a member of the Greens/EFA group, told this website, "Public opinion is massively against genetically modified crops and we oppose this decision because there is insufficient evidence that this particular strain of potato is not harmful."
In his reply in the debate, Barroso said that while groups such as the Greens "take a strong position" on the GM issue, he was "neither for nor against" genetically modified food.
He said, "I am not prejudiced one way or the other. It depends on the independent, scientific evidence we are given. We will accept something if there is no scientific evidence for not doing so."
BASF says that while starch from the GM potato Amflora will not be used in human food, it may use the product in animal feed.
What particularly worries opponents of GM technology, however, is that Amflora carries an extra gene that makes the potato resistant to some antibiotics.
However, the EPP welcomed last week's decision, with chair Joseph Daul and Werner Langen, head of the German delegation inthe centre-right group, describing the commission's decision as "a positive step whichwas long overdue".
"European farmers need the same access to modern technologies as farmers in other regions of the world," they said.
"Biotechnology must be the key technology for a competitive andsustainable agricultural sector in Europe, creating jobs in agricultureas well as in research and development. Europe has to retain itsleading role in biotechnology."
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.