by Jens Degett
The European Federation of Biotechnology, EFB, is very concerned about
the draft decisions of the European Commission to reject two Bt maize
product submissions based on discredited scientific arguments that have not
been reviewed by its own independent scientific body, the European Food
Safety Authority.
In an open letter to Commissioner Stavros Dimas the EFB President Marc
van Montagu states that the draft decisions do not have a scientific basis
and they seem to have been made without considering the consequences for
Europe or the fact that similar varieties have been growing in Europe for
the past 9 years with high adoption rates with no adverse environmental
effects and in coexistence with conventional and organic farming.

?The draft decisions fail to draw on a substantial body of scientific
data accumulated over several years and published in the last 12 months that
highlight the economic, environmental and consumer benefits of Bt maize. A
total of 63 peer-reviewed publications attest to the fact that Bt toxin does
not accumulate in the soil and does not affect aerial and soil-based
non-target organisms, on the contrary, there is ample evidence that
non-target insects are severely threatened and reduced in their populations
by spraying pesticides.

In considering the environmental safety of Bt maize, it is pertinent
to note that Bacillus thuringiensis has been widely used as an insecticide
spray for the control of European corn borer in Europe since 1938, when the
first commercial Bt preparation (Sporeine) came onto the market in France.
Given that Bt is a commonly used insecticide in organic agriculture and
given the current trend in the expansion of organic farming in Europe, and
the year-on-year northward spread of European corn borer, it is inevitable
that Bt spraying will be on the increase.

The scientific data accumulated over recent years as part of biosafety
assessment dossiers compiled on the various Bt crop varieties for commercial
release will provide useful evidence for assessing the environmental impact
of organic farming. As for the present time these environmental assessments
of Bt sprays with their much higher concentrations have not been properly
carried through, and also not published in peer reviewed journals ? this in
contrast to the many peer reviewed papers testifying no negative effects in
soil and agricultural environment of GM Bt crops.

Agriculture is vital to the European economy, and Europe stands to
gain much by the cultivation of new high performance crop varieties. Bt
maize ensures productivity in years of heavy infestations and reduces the
need for pesticides. In 2006, GM maize varieties including these two
products were planted on 25.2 million hectares around the globe, and on
62,187 hectares in Europe. Spain has grown Bt maize for 9 years, and the
benefits of Bt maize to Spanish farmers are well documented: average yield
benefits have often been 10% and sometimes higher, which adds ?15 million
income to Spanish growers. Recent field trials in Italy showed that Bt maize
performed
better than conventional varieties with yield increases of between 28
and 43 percent. These trials demonstrated that Bt maize can not only be more
profitable for farmers, but is healthier because of lower contamination with
hazardous fungal mycotoxins which represent a significant health threat to
humans and animals when present in the food chain (Regulation (EC) No
1881/2006).

Farming systems are very diverse, from conventional to organic or
genetically modified (GM). This ensures that agriculture provides an
abundant and affordable supply of healthy food and feed, and offers
consumers more choice. The EU?s explicit policy is that 'No form of
Agriculture should be excluded from the Union', and the European Commission
asks Member States to develop rules for the coexistence of different
production systems, like Bt maize and non-GM maize, all long term scientific
coexistence studies on maize demonstrate the feasibility of coexistence.

The draft Commission Decisions are totally unacceptable, not only for
European farmers and consumers, but also set a terrible example for other
parts of the world that presently draft guidelines for the cultivation of GM
crops, since they look to Europe as an example. This is especially true in
the developing world where there is an urgent need of new technologies to
raise agricultural productivity. Other GM strains of maize are under
development that will have enhanced nutritional quality or tolerance to
drought, and must be given the chance to reach those who need them the most.
It is a proven fact that in developing countries Bt maize is healthier due
to its much lower content of mycotoxins, which have dramatic detrimental
effect on human health (cancer, spina bifidis)?.

The open letter to Stavros Dimas concludes that the Commissioners
proposals on not to approve the two Bt maize lines for cultivation based on
discredited scientific arguments would not only undermine the EU?s own
scientific advice and risk assessment procedure but would also represent a
significant threat to the competitiveness of European farmers.


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