EU GM ISSUE: MONSANTO BACKS OFF ON CROPS

Monsanto Steps Up Efforts on EU GM Imports, Backs Off on Crops

Agricultural biotechnology giant Monsanto will scrap all pending approval requests to grow new types of genetically modified (GM) crops in the European Union in the coming months, company officials confirmed on 17 July. The company will now focus its efforts on securing EU approval to import genetically modified products, which are widely grown and marketed in the United States and South America.

“We will no longer be pursuing approvals for cultivation of new biotech crops in Europe,” a company spokesman told the Telegraph newspaper. “Instead, we will focus on enabling imports of biotech crops into the EU and the growth of our current business there.”

In an interview with Reuters, José Manuel Madero, Monsanto’s President and Managing Director for Europe, called the decision a strategic business move that will also see the company focus more on conventional maize, soybean, and sugar beet seeds in Europe.

“Conventional seeds is the area where we are focusing at this time in Europe, and we are funding the business in a way that we haven’t done for more than 15 years,” Madero said.

The decision covers EU approval requests to grow five GM maize varieties, one variety of soybean, and one sugar beet. However, the company said that it would not withdraw its application to renew the approval for its insect-resistant MON810 maize - the only GM crop currently cultivated commercially in parts of Europe.

European biotech difficulties

The move reflects the frustration felt by many biotech companies towards the EU’s approval system for GM seeds and imports, which can often face years of delays. Attitudes toward the biotech industry vary widely across Europe, however, which has presented difficulties for legislators in Brussels.

Some British ministers have been championing for the establishment of a domestic GM industry, citing food security concerns. The UK environment secretary also recently initiated a lobbying effort in the EU to relax strict restrictions on growing GM crops for human consumption for fears of being “left behind.”

However, much of Europe still remains hostile towards the idea of GM food; only three varieties have ever been given the green light for cultivation - two of which are only for industrial purposes.

Strong public opposition and scientific studies showing that MON810 seed could harm biodiversity have also driven several European countries - including France, Germany, and most recently, Italy - to impose national bans on Monsanto’s MON810 maize, even though it has been approved for cultivation throughout the EU.

Monsanto officials say that the company will decide the exact withdrawal date of each application after carrying out a careful analysis on a case-by-case basis, taking its obligations to business partners into consideration.

Focus on trade

Controversy for Monsanto is unlikely to fade any time soon, with the company confirming that it will step up efforts to ease restrictions on imports of GM products from countries with more lax biotech cultivation rules. Polls have shown that a majority of European consumers are opposed to human consumption of GM foods.

Brussels adopted a more open approach to GM imports in 2011, when it backed away from its zero tolerance policy. (See Bridges Trade BioRes, 7 March 2011) While almost 50 GM products have been approved for import into the EU - the vast majority for animal feed or food processing - approval of new products for import will likely be a slow and difficult process.

Europe is one of the world’s major buyers of biotech grain, according toReuters, importing more than 30 million metric tons of mostly GM animal feed each year for its livestock industry.

Monsanto plans to invest €225 million in corn production plant expansions that are already under way in France, Hungary, Romania, and Turkey, which officials say will create more than 150 new full-time jobs and many more seasonal jobs.

Some environmental groups have expressed optimism over the move to back off on crop cultivation.

“Over the last couple of decades, GM crops have proven to be an ineffective and unpopular technology, with unacceptable risks for our environment and health,” said Mark Breddy, a spokesman for Greenpeace EU. “Monsanto’s retreat could finally create the space for European farming to focus on modern practices and technologies that offer real advances for food production and rural communities.”