Once allowed in, such pollution would be all but impossible to breed out again. Pure seed lines of conventional crops could be polluted in perpetuity.
"You just sort of surrender," said Don Westfall, pro-GE crop vice president of Promar International, a major US food industry consultancy. He also stated to a Canadian Newspaper that "the hope of the industry is that over time the market is so flooded that there's nothing you can do about it."
But surrender is not an option.
"You just sort of surrender," said Don Westfall, pro-GE crop vice president of Promar International, a major US food industry consultancy. He also stated to a Canadian Newspaper that "the hope of the industry is that over time the market is so flooded that there's nothing you can do about it."
But surrender is not an option.
Zero tolerance is the only correct attitude toward the potential consequences of GE pollution of conventional seeds, a message the EU is now hearing loud and clear from Greenpeace cyberactivists.
Why legislate "zero tolerance" for GE pollution? Too little is known about GE crops to be sure that they are safe for humans, animals or the environment. There is already serious concern about their role in the spread of antibiotic resistance genes, and the creation of super weeds, just two of many potential threats.
Why legislate "zero tolerance" for GE pollution? Too little is known about GE crops to be sure that they are safe for humans, animals or the environment. There is already serious concern about their role in the spread of antibiotic resistance genes, and the creation of super weeds, just two of many potential threats.
The proposed directives also spell economic disaster for organic farmers. Organic production does not accept GE contamination of crops. Europe's organic farmers could be forced to give up either their principles or their livelihood.
You wouldn't guess it from the new directive, but ample supplies of seeds with no detectable GE pollution exist (the lower threshold of pollution detectable by current tests is 0.1 percent contamination). With so much unpolluted seed available, it is pure folly for the EU to set this artificially high threshold.
You wouldn't guess it from the new directive, but ample supplies of seeds with no detectable GE pollution exist (the lower threshold of pollution detectable by current tests is 0.1 percent contamination). With so much unpolluted seed available, it is pure folly for the EU to set this artificially high threshold.