Europe readies for GM disaster

A draft Directive, to be ratified by European ministers, includes plans to "decontaminate" affected areas and destroy plants and animals exposed to GMOs. The plan is designed to prevent a human health disaster and stop genetically modified plants breeding wildly with native species.

 The plans are based on those intended to cope with nuclear fallout. Any application to grow GM crops on a commercial scale will have to show how it will comply with these safety precautions, which can only be massively expensive:

1. Methods and procedures for controlling the GMOs in case of unexpected spread; 
2. Methods for decontamination of the areas affected, e.g. eradication of the GMOs; 
3. Methods for disposal or sanitation of plants, animals, soils, etc. that were exposed during or after the spread; 
4. Methods for the isolation of the area affected by the spread; 
5. Plans for protecting human health and the environment in case of the occurrence of an undesirable effect. 

"Ministers are clearly foreseeing major problems with GMOs, or they wouldn't be considering these action plans," said Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat environment spokesman. "With large farm-scale trials in the UK only days away'', contingency plans were "a matter of urgency", he said. 

Original source: Independent 4/4/1999 "EU plans for large scale GM disaster". By Marie Woolf, Political Correspondent.

Comment

We are satisfied to find that the European Union now recognizes what we have been stating about the health and ecological hazards with GE organisms and foods. But we find it highly unsatisfactory that EU does not meet its responsibility to prevent its citizens and its ecology from unpredictable and potentially serious hazards from GE products. The only responsible solution would be to establish a moratorium on the release and use of GE foods as stated in our Declaration.