Brussels, 08/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - According to the latest annual report by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), published on 7 February, “in 2011, developing countries adopted biotech crops at twice the rate of developed countries. Moreover, approximately 50% of biotech crops are now grown in developing countries”, while remaining very marginal in Europe.
According to the report, crops of MON 810 - the only GMO authorised to be grown as a crop in the EU - certainly increased by 20% in one year (114,607 hectares in 2011 compared to 91,643 hectares the previous year) due to the growth of the crop in two member states (+27% in Spain and +59% in Portugal), but these figures are negligible compared to the 160 million hectares of GMOs grown throughout the world (compared to 148 million in 2010) by 16.7 million farmers (compared to 15.4 million in 2010).
Europe lags behind, Europabio deplores. Given the above figures, the biotech industry deplores the fact that the EU is lagging behind. Europabio has reaffirmed its conviction that crops developed from biotechnology are clearly a tool for helping farmers not only in developed countries but also in developing countries to have a positive impact on the environment while supporting the vitality of local communities' economies. “European biotech cultivation increased this year, which shows that farmers see the benefits when they are given the choice to plant these crops. However, Europe simply isn't keeping pace with its global competitors, who have now been growing a wide array of biotech crops for 17 years. What message are we sending to the rest of the world when high-tech jobs are leaving the EU and anti-biotech scare tactics continue to be business as usual?”, commented Carel du Marchie Sarvaas, EuropaBio's Director for Green Biotechnology Europe.
A triumph for the environment, NGOs say. Environmental NGOs, on the other hand, hail the public's resistance to genetically modified organisms in Europe, which has managed to keep the share of GMO crops down to 0.1% of total arable land surface, compared to 3.7% for organic crops. “Politicians need to listen to public opinion and throw their weight behind the demand for greener and safer farming”, states Mute Schimpf from Friends of the Earth Europe. Marco Contiero, Greenpeace EU Agriculture Policy Director, said: “There is no escaping the hard facts: GM food has flopped in Europe, is increasingly opposed in Asia and is retreating to the Americas”. Greenpeace notes that MON 810 maize, the only GM crop to be grown in Europe in 2012, is still subject to the safeguard clause in seven member states for health and environmental reasons. (AN/transl.jl)