New EU GM rules won't protect people or environment

New European rules on the licencing of GM crops and food will not protect consumers, farmers or the environment, according to Friends of the Earth.

After months of wrangling and lobbying by the biotech industry, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) approved a revised EU GM directive. The directive regulates the release of GMOs into the environment and food across the EU.

The proposed directive has major failings:

antibiotic marker genes won't be banned immediately - they'll be phased out over a number of years
there is little to stop GM pollution contaminating organic and conventional farms
it doesn't make biotechnology companies liable for any of the effects (such as contamination of conventional crops) of GMOs

But the move by six EU countries, led by France, not to accept any new GMO approvals and retain the de facto moratorium is very positive. "What a contrast it makes with the UK Governments cavalier approach to proceed with large scale GM crop trials," said Adrian Bebb, GM campaigner at Friends of the Earth. "These crops were approved under the old directive which is widely accepted as insufficient to protect the environment. The UK Government should stop the trials and support the moratorium."