Barb Isman, president of the Canola Council of Canada, describes the European Union’s new policy on approving genetically modified products as one day of sunshine on a large iceberg.
“The sun has shone for a day and there was a bit of melting but it is still an iceberg,” she said in a July 3 interview from Winnipeg.
“I’m trying to be positive but I don’t mean to call this a hallelujah day either.”
Others were less kind.
“On the face of it, we see this as going to be cumbersome, it’s going to be problematic, it’s going to be bureaucratic,” said federal trade department spokesperson Sameer Ahmed in Ottawa.
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“It will add to the feeling of frustration for those trying to get into the European market.”
He said it is too early to say if Canada, the United States, Argentina and Egypt would consider the legislation enough of a market-opening move to drop their World Trade Organization challenge of EU restrictions.
The industry is urging that the challenge continue and the U.S. has indicated it will.
The anti-GM foods lobby group Greenpeace said it is thrilled to see “the world’s strictest and most comprehensive rules on the labelling of GMOs. The new EU rules allow consumers to exercise their right to reject GMO food.”
The subject of the comments were rules approved last week by the European Parliament that could take effect as early as March 2004.
The rules set out the process for approving GM products for the market, ending at least on paper a de facto five-year ban on new product approvals.
The key parts of the new rules will be a labelling requirement for foods containing one percent or more of material derived from a genetically modified product and the requirement for full tracing from store shelf back to the farm.
“The new legislation will consolidate a trustworthy and safe approach to GMOs, GM food and GM feed,” the European Commission said in a July 2 reaction to the parliamentary vote.
“It will ensure full traceability of GMOs throughout the chain from farm to table and will provide consumers with comprehensive information by labelling all food and feed consisting of, containing or produced from a GMO.”
EC environment commissioner Margot Wallstrom said the rules will “reinforce our international credibility and will certainly help in building public confidence in new technologies.”
The North American biotechnology lobby quickly challenged that European claim.
“Our customers among the farming and food-producing communities tell us the new traceability and labelling standards are impractical,” biotechnology industry organization vice-president Val Giddings said from Washington, where the group has head offices.
“Impartial observers can see they are not scientifically defensible. We are concerned that these new rules may not, in fact, enable European consumers to enjoy the opportunity to choose foods derived from crops improved through biotechnology.”
For Greenpeace, that is exactly the point.
The organization said the industry and supportive governments are trying to deprive consumers of a choice by insisting on voluntary labelling and trying to force European borders open through the WTO.
“This vote is a slap in the face of the U.S. and Canadian governments who thought that by threatening WTO action, Europe and eventually others would swallow its GMO policy,” said Greenpeace EU campaigner Eric Gall.
Instead, the world should follow the European model, he said.
In Winnipeg, Isman said this year could be a test of Europe’s new rules and whether they really do mean an end to the ban. She said there is a short oilseed crop in parts of the world and Canada could have a good canola crop with product to sell.
“I think this could be an interesting test, if they really do allow our product in if there is a demand.”
