By Marcel Bodnár
Genetic modification of agricultural products has sparked controversy
ever since it was developed in the U.S. in the mid-1980s, with concerns from
consumers, the scientific community and environmental groups. The Czech
Republic and the European Union have both moved cautiously with genetically
modified organisms (GMOs).
According to current European Union regulations, only one type of
genetically modified (GM) corn can be commercially grown within EU borders.
?This corn variety-Bt corn MON810-is resistant to vermin called European
corn borer (ECB),? said Marie Cerovská, spokeswoman for the crop department
at Ministry of Agriculture (MZ). Bt corn MON810 is made by U.S.-based
agriculture company Monsanto Company


GM corn production in Czech Republic

According to Vítezslav Navrátil, CEO of Rost?nice, one of the biggest
growers of GM corn in Moravia, the advantage of this variety is that it is
unnecessary to use a chemical pesticide against ECB, and therefore it?s more
ecologically friendly. In addition, production levels are higher. However,
using GM seeds has a downside for farmers. ?Increased administration and the
need to follow specific measurementsNfor example, rules of co-existence
especially with organic farmersNhigher GM seed costs and problems with sales
[are drawbacks],? Cerovská said. But despite these negatives, corn farmers
agree that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. This year, some 5,000
hectares of GM corn were planted, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
And the production is likely to increase. ?GM corn seed has an 18 percent
share in our production, and we?re planning on expansion of this share,?
Navr?til said. GM corn has been grown in the Czech Republic since 1996.

More GM plant types are being dis cussed in the EU, such as a newly
developed GM potato from leading German chemical producer BASF and another
variety of corn (type NK603) developed by Monsanto. Before they?re approved
for the EU market, they must be properly tested as to whether they could
potentially be harmful to the environment or human health. This testing is
done under the supervision of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA),
which, on the basis of test results, will make a recommendation to the
European Commission for approval of the GMO. If it is approved, the plant
can be commercially produced in the EU. However, because public disagreement
over GM crops could impact sales, some member states are still reluctant to
allow farmers to grow GM plants. ?On the European market, it?s still
lucrative to behave as a country opposed to GMOs,? said Jaromír Drobník, a
professor in the microbiology and genetics department at Charles University
in Prague. In Austria and Hungary it is forbidden to sow these types of
crops, while other countries such as Germany and Slovakia are slowly
conducting field trials.

While being GMO-free may offer a market advantage, some people in the
field maintain the opposition has no solid basis. ?Arguments made by those
[countries with] national prohibitions are not in line with scientific
knowledge concerning risks of GM corn,? Cerovská said.

Others see it as inevitable progress. ?Genetic engineering is a
science that belongs to plant breeding and is a part of societal
development, which nobody can stop. Otherwise, we should consider returning
to a primeval society,? Navrátil said.


Greenpeace strongly against GMO

Although GM corn is favored by some farmers, international
environmental organization Greenpeace takes a strong stand against GMO
production of any kind. It claims that GMO production markedly decreases
biodiversity and threatens the existence of many plants and animals. GMOs
also increase herbicide usage threefold, it says. According to France-based
research group Committee for Independent Research and Information on Genetic
Engineering (CRIIGEN), testing of the new GM corn strain NK603 on rats
showed that many rats exposed to the corn showed considerable differences in
the size of organs including the brain, liver and heart.

But others in the scientific community stand behind GMOs. ?[GMO]
plants are the most thoroughly tested raw materials used in the
food-processing industry. New [nongenetically modified] varieties are
practically untested for risks, although they may be more risky from an
ecological or health perspective,? Drobník said. ?The toxin included in the
GM corn genes [of Bt corn MON810] doesn?t destroy all types of insects. It
affects only butterflies and moths. It isn?t harmful to other animals or
human beings,? Drobnik said.

In addition, the possible risks of GMOs are examined in detail by many
institutions, and permitted GMOs on the European market ?do not represent a
bigger risk for the environment? than any unmodified plants, said Jarmila
Krebsová, spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Environment (M?P). ?GMOs have
been grown and consumed for more than 10 years in the U.S., and during this
period there haven?t been any registered
cases of negative effects on human health,? she said.

But Greenpeace disputes that testing has been as thorough as many GMO
supporters claim. The EFSA, according to Greenpeace, relied only on test
results provided by the company that produced new GM corn strain NK603 and
on results given by BASF concerning GM potatoes. It did not have another,
independent institution conduct additional tests.
?This is hardly sufficient. EFSA should really have assigned somebody
else like an independent expert to redo and evaluate those tests,? said
Lenka Boráková, media assistant with Greenpeace.


Public concerns
The general public is deeply divided on the GMO question. There are
those in favor and those againstNwith a large number of people who don?t
have necessary information remaining undecidedNand those who show no
interest in the topic.

The number of those who would never buy or consume GM products
increased from 19 percent in 2003 to 28 percent in 2005. And the rate of
people who have insufficient information to decide still remains higher than
35 percent, according to research done by the National Institute of Public
Health (SZÚ) in Brno, South Moravia.

Research in 2005 by EU statistical arm Eurobarometer showed a high
level of acceptance of GMOs. ?According to this survey, the Czech Republic
is first among the EU-25 in general public support of modern technologies.
In trust of the biotechnological industry only Cyprus stands better,?
Drobník said, adding, that this positive approach to modern technologies
hasn?t changed recently. In the survey, the Czech Republic scored 233 points
out of a possible 400 points, far above the EU average of 184 points in
trust of modern technology. The point system measure combined trust in
nanotechnology, pharmocogenetics, gene therapy and GM foods. Some 77 percent
of those polled in the Eurobarometer survey in the Czech Republic said they
trusted biotechnology, trailing only Cyprus at 82 percent.

However, there still is significant group of people who would never
buy a GM product. To accommodate those who are opposed and concerned, the EU
law on marking GM products is being applied in all EU countries. ?GMOs and
groceries and fodders made from GMOs must be labeled, using words ?contains
genetically modified [ingredients]? or ?made of genetically modified
[ingredients].? This obligation also regards imports from [non-EU]
countries,? the M?P?s Krebsová said. ?Only products containing less than 0.9
percent of admixtures of a permitted GMO don?t have to carry those marks,
and only if those admixtures are coincidental and technically unavoidable,?
she said.


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