On Nov. 11, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted to allow member nations to ban genetically modified (GM) crops from their soil, even if they are given approval to be grown within the European Union.
The Issue of Genetically Modified Crops in Europe
GM crops, widely grown in the Americas and Asia, have long divided opinion amongst European Union (EU) member states. MEPs on the parliament’s Environmental Committee backed a plan that will allow member states to ban GM crops on environmental grounds.
This raises the prospect that the use of GM will remain limited on the continent. In a statement, the executive European Commission said it was confident the law could be in place in 2015, once it had received final endorsement from the European Parliament and member states.
GM cultivation has provoked opposition in Europe for years. An earlier attempt to agree a compromise on GM cultivation failed in 2012, when EU ministers were unable to agree. To date, only two GM crops have been approved for commercial cultivation within the EU, one of which was later blocked by a court. Monsanto's GM maize MON810 is the only GM crop grown in Europe, and has been cultivated in Spain and Portugal for a decade.
A Step Closer to Ban National GMO Crops
The text approved on 11 November would entitle member states to pass legally binding acts restricting or prohibiting the cultivation of GMO crops after they have been authorized at EU level. They could also ask when a new GMO crop is being assessed at EU level, to adjust the geographical scope of the authorization. Bans could be founded upon, inter alia, the aims of environmental policy, town and country planning, land use, agricultural policy, public policy, or possible socio-economic impacts. Further possible grounds should include preventing GMO contamination of other products, persistent scientific uncertainty, the development of pesticide resistance amongst weeds and pests, invasiveness, the persistence of a GMO variety in the environment, or a lack of data on the potential negative impacts of a variety, MEPs say.