According to a report in the AgraFacts newsletter, the Commission's DG SANTE said on 31 March that the files on new GM techniques ("new genomic techniques" or NGTs) and plant reproductive material will no longer be tabled on 7 June, as previously planned. The revised plan is for both dossiers to be adopted by the College at the end of June (date to be confirmed) and therefore there will be no discussion on these files at the AGRIFISH Council in Luxembourg - originally foreseen under the Swedish Presidency. AgraFacts reports that the Impact Assessment accompanying the EU’s legislation for plants derived from certain new GM techniques “did not go well” at the Regulatory Scrutiny Board last month. Sources say the analysis did not sufficiently assess the impact on consumer trust, the organic sector, environment, or health, while it failed to present an overview of the costs and benefits. Under EU rules, a "positive" or "positive with reservations" opinion is needed from the Board for an initiative accompanied by an Impact Assessment to be tabled for adoption by the Commission. In case of a negative opinion, the draft report must be reviewed and resubmitted to the Board before it can proceed. AgraFacts (subscription only, no direct link)

 

 

The European Commission must implement a safety assessment of genetically modified products and maintain mandatory labelling, Austrian Climate Minister Leonore Gewessler and Consumer Protection Minister Johannes Rauch said in a letter to EU Health and Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides as Brussels is expected to push for the deregulation new genomic techniques. By early June, the Commission is expected to decide whether to loosen existing EU rules on new GM techniques ("new genomic techniques" or NGTs) as these are currently subject to the GMO legislation. For Austria, however, the EU should stick to existing rules to protect consumers and the environment, the letter addressed to Kyriakides who is responsible for the file reads. Austria’s “long tradition of organic farming and strict rules to protect it from genetic engineering” – an “achievement”, according to Gewessler – “must not be jeopardised by EU legislation on new genomic techniques, which is being developed by the Commission merely on the basis of vague assumptions.” Euractiv.com

 

 

A collective of Mayan beekeepers (Colectivo de Comunidades Mayas) in Mexico is implicating chemical industry giant Bayer/Monsanto in a massive die-off of more than 300,000 bees among their combined apiaries. According to Mexico News Daily, the total value of losses represent a staggering $663,000 US dollars (12 million pesos). The incident is the latest instance of the pesticide and agrichemical industry setting up shop in a local community and wrecking the health of the local ecology. Mayan beekeepers explain that Bayer/Monsanto recently started operations on a ranch in the southern Mexican state of Campeche. A local businessman placed the 50 hectare ranch on loan to the company. Since that arrangement, the company has aerially sprayed row crops like corn and soy with undisclosed chemicals. “One of Bayer’s engineers or technicians allowed us to take samples from one of their crops after the bees started to die,” said beekeeper José Manuel Poot Chan. “We are exhausting all possible legal instances, while members of the Welfare Ministry already came to offer humanitarian social aid to cover part of the damages.” Beyond Pesticides

 

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