By Martha Moss - 15th October 2009
Environmentalists have clashed with the EU over the legitimacy of the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa), claiming it acts as a mouthpiece for the GMO lobby.
Speaking as farmers from around the world called on EU policymakers to stop the authorisation of Bayer GM rice, Juan-Felipe Carrasco of Greenpeace Spain told this website that Efsa did not protect consumers from contaminated products.
"Efsa keeps saying it's ok to go ahead with genetic engineering (GE)," he said.
"We are not protected by Efsa which is completely controlled by the GE lobby."
GM lobbyists were presenting evidence to Efsa which suit the industry and do not account for consumer health, he added.
However, EU health commissioner Androulla Vassiliou insisted that Efsa "is a responsible agency" which carefully examines all scientific evidence.
Vassiliou joined farmers at the Greenpeace-organised event on Thursday to accept a petition signed by 180,000 people to prevent the approval of the Bayer rice.
"Our priority is to make sure that whatever we authorise is safe for public health, for animal health and for the environment," she said.
"That is why we set up Efsa - to give a scientific opinion on any application for GMOs.
"When we have a very clear opinion about the scientific evidence for the safety of any product I have no option but to authorise it.
"But if I have any doubts at any time about the reliability of this scientific opinion or if new evidence is given then I have no hesitation in referring it back to Efsa for additional information.
"We have done that with rice, and asked Efsa to discuss the issue with you. I trust that Efsa is a responsible agency and will examine everything given to them.
"They will take serious consideration of what you have told them and hopefully come up with sound scientific opinion."
Fernando José Llobell Bisball, president of the Association of Organic Consumers in Albacete, Spain, said he had come to Brussels to call on EU institutions to protect society "from the dangers of GMOs".
"We claim our right to eat without GMOs," he said, speaking of the socio-economic impacts of using biotechnology in agriculture.
The Spanish government was aggressively pro-GM, Bisball added, saying it accepted contamination of crops from GMOs.
Raül Romeva i Rueda, parliament's Greens vice-chairman, told TheParliament.com he attended the event because he was "very much concerned by these issues".
Romeva i Rueda, who is also a member of Greenpeace, said, "I think people are understanding that there are a lot of risks in opening the door to the use of GMOs, so this is something that needs a bit more political and institutional support."
While he acknowledged that it was a "matter for member states", he said the commission had a lot of power in authorising the use of new varieties of seeds.
"There is also a bigger dimension to this because investing in GMOs is causing a damaging effect - is it only about our food security or is it about food security all over the world?" he added.
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