EU Trade Commissioner Defends Open EU Approach to Biotech, GM Food

The European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson strongly defended an open European approach to biotechnology and genetically modified (GM) food in his speech to the European Biotechnology Open day in Brussels. Mandelson argued that Europe has the appropriate risk-management systems for ensuring that biotechnology is rigorously tested, but that these systems can be badly undermined if politicians and risk-managers do not defend the science that underpins them. He added that any blanket rejection of GMOs ignores the fact that genetically modified foods have played a key part in past revolutions in agricultural productivity and will be central to providing sufficient food and feed stocks for a growing population in the developing world. He then urged the EU to be the leader in shaping “a global system of clear rules that allow exporters and importers to trade GM crops and feed in confidence”. This is in the light of the increasing difficulty in sourcing animal feed approved under EU rules.

Read Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson’s speech at http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/mandelson/speeches_articles/sppm157_en.htm.