Brussels, 12/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - In a report on the mid-term review on life sciences, the European Commission says that there are many applications for modern biotechnology in primary production and agro-food and that it has “sizable economic, environmental and public health significance” (see EUROPE 9404). Modern biotechnology is used mainly in the input sectors, i.e. breeding, diagnostics, fine chemicals (feed additives) and enzyme production.
Overall, modern technology is used for 1.31-1.57% of Gross Value Added (GVA) generated by the primary production and agro-food sector. The Commission notes, too, the potential use of cloned animals or their descendents in the agro-food sector, and the use of genetically modified chickens for the production of pharmaceutical substances in their eggs.
Biotech-based diagnostics and veterinary products, mainly vaccines, play a role in controlling and monitoring some of the most important animal diseases and zoonoses. The development of biotechnological methods for surveillance of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the EU have allowed many more samples to be tested, thus enabling the level of surveillance required by Community legislation to be met and contributing to the protection of consumers and the resumption of trade in the products affected. Biotech-based diagnostics are also used for the detection of salmonella.
Further, biotechnology is used to select, or improve, specific traits of an organism. The best known examples are genetically modified plants. The Commission notes that “about a dozen” genetically modified products have recently been approved under the EU legal framework and that another 40 or so are in the pipeline, and this includes some for cultivation. In the future, plant genetic modification technology is likely to have greater application in the field of industrial process, in sectors such as the production of biofuels or paper.
The Commission intends to step up its efforts to ensure “a sustainable contribution of modern biotechnology to agriculture”. To this end, it proposes: - to assess notified national and regional measures on the co-existence of difference agricultural practices and study applicable national civil liability systems; - to re-evaluate, by 2008, the need for further guidance on co-existence at EU level; - to adopt crop-specific labelling thresholds for seeds; - to support research on the positive and negative long-term effects of commercially available GMOs; - to explore benefits and risks of GM crops used for industrial transformation or molecular farming.
The Commission also notes that the production process of bioethanol relies largely on biotechnology (through the use of enzymes or micro-organisms to make ethanol out of the biomass, whether crops, wood or bio-wastes). The development of biofuels “could create a significant number of new jobs throughout the EU and open new markets for agricultural products,” the report says. In March 2007, the European Council agreed a binding minimum level for biofuels of 10% of vehicle fuel by 2020. (lc)