EU food safety commissioner: Ban on GMO crop imports could spell ‘disaster’ for Europe’s economy

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Credit: Equiports

The fight against the importation of genetically-modified (GM) feed or food in Europe has been labelled as “scaremongering” and “a conspiracy theory” by a prominent European Commissioner.

Speaking to AgriLand, Vytenis Andriukaitis, the EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, defended the EU’s position as the world’s second-largest importer of GM soybean, which is mostly used for livestock feed.

To date, 58 GMs have been authorised for consumption in food and feed in the EU – including: maize; cotton; soybean; oilseed rape; and sugar beet, with a number of others awaiting approval.

However, environmental campaigners, climate change activists, scientists and some farming groups are lobbying hard against the deforestation issue in Brazil, where crops like maize, palm and soybean have replaced large swathes of rain forests.

The commissioner says that banning of GM feed would lead to “an economic crisis” across Europe. “You can’t guarantee everyday food on your tables if you exclude today’s feed for fish, poultry and animals in Europe.

He warned that banning the importation of GM feed products into the EU would be a “disaster” …. “If it’s banned, it will be a crisis – a social, economic crisis in the supermarket and it will be immediate,” the commissioner concluded.

Read full, original article: Fight to ban GM feed imports in EU labelled ‘scaremongering’

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