ANTI-GM LOBBY GROUPS ARE WITHHOLDING crucial facts from the public, said Dr Willy de Greef , agro biotechnology research specialist from Brussels, who is an internationally recognised authority and consultant on genetically modified crops.
Speaking at AfricaBio’s African Regional Biotechnology Communicators Press Conference in Centurion, Dr de Greef said anti-GMO activists claim that the EU is opposed to GM crops, that consumers in the EU do not eat GM food, and that GM crops grown in African countries would be denied export markets in the EU because the EU is opposed to them. “What they are not telling you is that six EU countries are currently planting GM crops, with several more anticipating. Spain is the leading country with 60 000ha. The other five countries – France, Czech Republic, Portugal, Germany and Slovakia – increased their plantings five-fold in 2006, from 1 500ha in 2005 to 8 500ha in 2006. This information is documented in the ISAAA Report 2006. “What the activists are not telling you is that Margaret Beckett, Britain’s environment secretary, approved the cultivation of GM herbicide-tolerant maize for cattle feed in 2004. Humans consume that meat. “They keep quiet about the fact that the EU commission approved the importation of GM sweetcorn for human consumption in 2002. “They do not mention the EU approval of the import, for human and animal consumption, of GM maize resistant to rootworm. Nor do they say anything about European Commission authorisation, in March 2006, of the marketing of GM maize 1507, resistant to stalk borer, for food and food ingredients. “They fail to mention that MON810, resistant to stalk borer, was approved for planting in the EU. Seventeen varieties were approved. “What the activists are not telling you is that maize, soya, cotton and possibly cassava, at some future stage, are the most likely GM crops to be produced in Africa. With the exception of cotton (Egypt and Sudan), none of these crops (with the exception of South Africa, a net exporter of food) are currently being exported to the EU. Should Africa one day become self-sufficient in maize and soya, surplus exports of approved GM products to the EU will never be in jeopardy,” Dr de Greef said. – Chris Nel
