EU Approves three new GM Crops

“This is a big step backwards for anyone who wants their food to be produced responsibly, fairly, and sustainably.” GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill

The European Union has approved three biotech soy traits for import and processing. The latest three are:
• Monsanto’s Roundup Ready 2 Xtend with dicamba and glyphosate tolerance
• Monsanto’s Vistive Gold, which is a high oleic soybean with glyphosate tolerance
• Bayer’s Balance GT which offers tolerance to glyphosate and the company’s HPPD inhibitor (developed with MS Technologies)
Commenting on the news that the European Commission has authorised three new GM soybeans for import, after the European Council (member countries) could not reach a decision, GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill said

“We hear constantly about the hypothetical potential of new GM techniques but this is the real face of GM 2.0 – more monocultures, sprayed with more herbicides.”

The recent US National Academies of Science report on GM highlighted the “major agricultural problems” caused by GM herbicide tolerant crops and EU approval for three more will only make those problems worse.
EU consumers have been voting with their wallets for years. Sales of GM foods are minimal across Europe because they have to be declared on the label. However, that’s not the case with meat, eggs and dairy products from animals fed on GM. Today’s move will bring yet more GM into the UK and the rest of Europe and consumers will find it very difficult to avoid buying GM-fed.
GM Freeze is the UK’s umbrella campaign for a moratorium on GM in food and farming. Members include the Soil Association, Friends of the Earth, farmers, scientists, retailers, and local campaigners.
Europe is a major soybean customer with more than 165 million bushels of exports already in 2016.

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