Brussels, 08/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - COPA (Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations in the EU) and COGECA (General Confederation of Agricultural Cooperatives in the EU) are urging member states to agree on new rules that will allow the presence of low levels of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) not yet authorised in animal feed, or risk seeing more EU farmers go out of business because of soaring input costs.
COPA-COGECA argues that the EU is more than 80% dependent on imports of vegetable proteins “for which there are no substitution possibilities in the short term. This is causing feed prices to rise further, thus deepening the crisis in the EU livestock sector, notably for pigs”, the organisations point out. “Feedstuffs represent between 50% and 65% of production costs in the EU”, they state. As these raw materials are used in both the feed and food chains, “it would be best to find a technical solution for both food and feed”, they continue.
COPA-COGECA has called on member states on the Permanent Committee for Biotechnology to agree at their meeting on Tuesday 8 February on a draft regulation allowing at least the presence of non-authorised GMOs in feed, up to a maximum threshold of 0.1%.
Given the bulk handling of grains in international trade, the presence of tiny quantities of GMOs not authorised in the EU is highly likely. “Compliance with a zero tolerance policy” is, the unions point out, “impossible”. “A practical solution must be found in the short term, otherwise it could cost EU farmers hundreds of millions of euro”, they suggest.
In the longer term, COPA-COGECA wants to develop the EU's own protein supply further and to re-introduce the use of processed animal proteins to reduce dependence on imported soybean. (L.C./transl.rt)