Stakeholders Share Insights on EU's Impact on GM Crops

The European Association for Bio-industries (EuropaBio) has organized an event in Brussels, Belgium that was attended by a group of high-level stakeholders from the development, trade, diplomatic and scientific communities. These stakeholders shared insights on the global impacts of European Union's (EU) policies on genetically modified (GM) crops.

During the two panel discussions on Global food security and the role of biotech crops and The impact of EU policies on global trade in agricultural commodities, speakers from Asia, the Americas and Europe gave their perspective on the challenges to ensure food supply for all in a changing environment, and their views on what role GM technology can play in helping farmers cope with agronomic and climatic stresses.

EU is today's biggest net importer of agricultural commodities. EU's imports of protein commodities are estimated to total upwards of 60 kg per EU citizen per year (500 million), the majority of which are GM. However, the EU authorization system for GM products does not operate efficiently, causing trade problems directly linked to the difference of pace for import approvals between the EU and exporting countries.

For more information, visit http://www.europabio.org/press/how-do-eu-policies-biotech-crops-impact-trade-and-development.