Italy environmentalists urge EU ban on GM soybeans
Reuters World Report
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By David Brough
ROME, Feb 6 (Reuters) - A leading Italian environmentalist
group urged the European Union on Tuesday to ban Monsanto's
(MON.N) genetically engineered Roundup Ready (RR) soybeans
because of new information about their DNA.
"As a simple precaution, these seeds should be withdrawn
from commerce," Ivan Verga, vice-president of Green Environment
and Society (VAS), told a news conference.
Monsanto said its product -- which is resistant to the
weedkiller Roundup -- was safe and posed no health or
environmental threat.
VAS, which has campaigned vigorously against genetically
modified foods, presented a Monsanto document at a Rome news
conference providing what it called new data about the genetic
makeup of RR soybeans.
"Recently, additional characterisation experiments have been
completed using more sensitive and precise methods," the
Monsanto report said.
"These studies have provided additional details of the
inserted DNA," it added, referring to the discovery of two new
genetic sequences in RR varieties.
VAS said it had found the Monsanto report, submitted to
Britain's Advisory Committee on Novel Food and Processes (ACNFP)
last year, on the Internet.
Monsanto, a unit of drug group Pharmacia Corp (PHA.N) which
listed on the New York Stock Exchange in October, has been at
the forefront of controversy over GM crops.
Its Roundup Ready varieties, cultivated by growing numbers
of U.S. producers, were authorised for sale in the EU in April
1996. They are popular with many American farmers because their
herbicide resistance simplifies crop management.
Verga said his group had written to EU Commission President
Romano Prodi urging a ban of RR soybeans as a precaution because
of uncertainty over their long-term impact on health and the
environment.
His call was supported by Gianni Tamino, a member of Italy's
National Bio-Security and Biotechnology Committee, and Roberto
Conti, vice-president of a leading consumers' group
COOP-Association of National Consumers' Cooperatives.
MONSANTO SAYS RR SOYBEANS SAFE
A Monsanto spokesman said he was surprised that the
environmentalists had raised the matter now as the document had
been made public several months ago.
"What is new is that we had refined our knowledge about our
genetic material," Gabriele Fontana told Reuters, insisting that
RR soybeans were safe and posed no environmental risk.
"The review of the safety assessment...confirms the
conclusions reached previously that...RR soybeans are as safe
and as nutritious as conventional soybean varieties and...do not
pose a plant pest risk or otherwise pose a risk to the
environment," the Monsanto document said.
MAD COW CRISIS
Tamino said he believed that Monsanto was now riding on the
back of the mad cow crisis sweeping Europe.
"It is inevitable that after the EU's ban on meat-based
animal feed, Europe will import more soybeans," he said.
The EU banned the use of meat-based animal feed for six
months from January 1 in order to reduce and prevent risks from
mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE.)
Italy confirmed its first native case of BSE last month.
VAS estimated that GM soybeans accounted for 40 percent of
the 10 million tonnes of soybeans a year imported to Italy.
Fontana said he believed GM soybeans probably accounted for
a lower percentage but reliable figures were unavailable.
Roundup Ready is the sole GM soybean variety approved for
sale in the EU.
A future ban on the import of GM soybeans to the EU could
lead European farmers to boost plantings of vegetable proteins,
including broad beans and peas, Tamino said.
Italy is the EU's biggest soybean producer by far, growing
around one million tonnes a year.