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French law passes GMO costs on to farmers, Greens protest
Posted by: Prof. Dr. M. Raupp (IP Logged)
Date: February 14, 2006 07:19AM

www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

France is proposing a new law that would effectively absolve the government
of financial responsibility for contamination caused by genetically modified
(GMO) crops, a move condemned by environmental groups, February 2006.

In legislation put forward this week, France's research ministry suggested
that farmers growing GMO crops would have to contribute to a fund to
compensate for any contamination claims from neighbouring growers of
traditional varieties.

"It is intolerable that the research ministry...is preparing to legalise
environmental pollution, putting citizens' health at risk and sentencing
French people, who are massively opposed to GMO?s, to genetic
contamination," Arnaud Apoteker, spokesman of Greenpeace France, said.

France's main farm unions welcomed the new laws, which are part of a larger
set of proposals presented on Wednesday aimed at implementing a key 2001
European directive allowing GMO growing under certain conditions.

The World Trade Organization also ruled earlier this week that the European
Union and six member states broke trade rules by barring entry to GMO foods
and crops. France permits GMO maize to be grown.

Concern that GMO strains of wheat or maize could cross pollinate with
traditional seeds has been one of the main focuses of environmental and
anti-biotech groups who oppose foods they think may pose a health danger.

Biotech firms, such as the big seedmakers like Monsanto of the US and Swiss
chemicals group Syngenta maintain their seeds are safe and can increase
yields while using less pesticide.

Paris has come under pressure to further open its farms to GMO after the
European Commission referred France to the EU's highest court last week over
its failure to adopt biotech laws and requested a daily fine of 168,800
euros ($202,100).

But France, home to anti-globalisation campaigner Jose Bove, convicted
several times for destroying test fields of GMO maize, was not obliged to
immediately tackle the highly sensitive issue of cross-contamination between
crops.

The current EU law states farmers finding more than 0.9 percent of GM
materials in conventional crops must label the products as containing GMO?s,
which can lead to lower prices, but does not speak of any compensation fund
or law.

Farmers Held Responsible

Environment campaigners and some growers groups protested that the proposal,
which forces farmers to pay up to 100 euros per hectares of GM crops for a
maximum of five years, also puts the whole responsibility of contamination
on farmers' shoulders.

"The proposed legislation is planning to force farmers to carry the can. It
thereby organises a total impunity for the food industry, seed makers and
transporters," Greenpeace said.

But the country's main farm unions said the proposal, finally lays out a set
of rules for growing GMO crops.

"It seemed indispensable to define at last a clear framework for producers,
which would respect their choice and those of consumers," they said in a
joint press release.

Opponents say GMO?s should be banned altogether because cross-pollination is
inevitable and makes it impossible for consumers to have a real choice over
the food they purchase.

[www.planetark.com]

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