27
March 2008 - Romania — In an historic move,
the Romanian Government today announced
it will ban genetically engineered (GE)
maize and embrace organic agriculture. The
move is particularly significant as GE maize
is the only commercially cultivated GE crop
permitted in Europe.
Minister of Environment
and Durable Development Mr Attila Korodi’s
announcement banning Monsanto’s GE maize
MON 810, makes Europe’s largest per hectare
maize producer GE–free.
"My ministry is
in possession of new scientific studies
showing that GE is not safe for human health
or the environment,” Korodi said. “These
are the same studies that have recently
been used by other European Union Member
States such as France, Hungary, Austria
and Greece to justify the banning of Monsanto's
GE maize MON 810...
“We expect [the ban]
to come into force around 15 April. Until
that time, we demand that Romanian farmers
do not plant MON 810 seeds. The future of
Romania is organic," he declared at
an event organised by Greenpeace, Slow Food
and the Organic Farmers Organisation of
Romania.
Romania cultivates about
3 million hectares of maize annually, losing
GE companies an important market.
The Government’s decision
makes Romania the seventh of Europe’s leading
maize producers to ban the growing of Monsanto’s
GE maize, following France, Hungary, Italy,
Austria, Greece and Poland.
Scientific studies which
have been significant in European governments’
decision to reject GE have shown MON 810
maize is harmful to wildlife, soil and human
health. Its inbuilt toxin, which is designed
to kill the cornborer, a pest considered
insignificant in Romania and other parts
of Europe, seeps into soil harming animals
critical to soil health, such as earthworms,
and other wildlife including butterflies,
ants and spiders. Proof of its safety for
human and animal health are inconclusive.
“Romania’s GE ban marks
a seismic change. It sends a critical message
that this dangerous technology will not
be tolerated. It is vital the European Commission
protects all of Europe’s farmers, consumers
and environment by introducing an EU-wide
ban against GE cultivation,” Geert Ritsema,
Greenpeace International GE campaign coordinator
said.
Monsanto’s 10-year licence,
granted by the European Commission to grow
MON 810 throughout the EU, comes up for
renewal later this year. This provides an
important opportunity for the Commission
and European Union (EU) Member States to
reject GE once and for all.
In November of last
year, Stavros Dimas, the European Commissioner
for the Environment, raised concerns over
the safety of GE cultivation. But to date
his proposal to ban the growing of two GE
maize varieties has been blocked by President
of the European Commission Manuel Barroso.
“The Romanian people
overwhelmingly reject this unsafe, unnecessary
and unsustainable technology,” said Gabriel
Paun, GE Campaign Coordinator for Greenpeace
Romania. In 2007, a Greenpeace-commissioned
opinion poll conducted by Mercury Research
showed 67 percent of Romanians do not want
to eat GE food.
Apart from safety concerns,
GE also poses contamination threat to natural
crops. There have been 216 contamination
events in 57 countries since GE crops were
first grown commercially on a large scale
in 1996, as Greenpeace and GeneWatch UK’s
latest GM Contamination Register Report
shows. Greenpeace is calling for an international
standard to hold biotech companies to account
for the damage and financial losses they
cause.
