France: New genetic engineering act in time for the 2008 growing season?
France is to pass a new genetic engineering act by February 2008. The French government submitted a draft to the Conseil d’Etat (Council of State) on 30 November. A new expert committee is to compile a report on the cultivation of genetically modified MON810 maize by January. If the report is favourable and the legislative process runs according to plan, the cultivation of GM maize in France could resume in 2008, despite the temporary moratorium announced by President Sarkozy in October. The French Federation of Farmers' Unions (FNSEA) has advised farmers not to buy any MON810 seed until the new act has been passed.
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According to reports in the French press in early December, the minister of agriculture Michel Barnier stated that the use of genetic engineering in France should focus more strongly on the fundamental principles of precaution and transparency, and that seed producers and farmers who use genetically modified plants should take responsibility for potential consequences.
Reassessment of MON810 maizeAs a preliminary measure, in terms of the precautionary principle, which is being accorded greater value, the Prime Minister will appoint a new expert committee, the Haute Autorité, by the end of this year to advise the government on matters relating to the risk assessment of genetically modified organisms. It will consist of two sub-committees, a scientific committee and one which deals with economic, ethical and social issues. The committee's very first task could prove troublesome: it is due to assess the cultivation of the insect-resistant MON810 GM maize by January. The findings of the assessment report will be a major factor in determining whether the moratorium on the cultivation of Bt maize imposed by President Nicolas Sarkozy in October will be lifted by the next growing season. Cultivation of Bt maize: new genetic engineering act with stricter rules on coexistenceSarkozy had named the adoption of the new genetic engineering act as a further condition for ending the moratorium. According to the current timetable, the National Assembly should have adopted the statutory text by 9 February. The act will contain, among other things, newly drafted rules on the cultivation of GM plants and coexistence with conventional arable crops. In addition, the minister of agriculture will receive a statutory mandate to issue concrete coexistence measures such as cultivation regulations and rules on separation distances. According to the March 2007 regulations currently in force, farmers growing GM maize must maintain a minimum separation distance of 50 metres from conventional or organic maize fields. |
The site register, which was also set up in March 2007, is likely to contain more detailed publicly accessible information when the new act comes into force. For example, in future it should be possible to obtain the precise coordinates of plots on which GM plants are grown. Until now, interested citizens have been able to access information only about the number and size of GM fields in individual regions via the website. The precise location of the fields was not revealed.
The current draft law also contains liability regulations for loss of income as a result of GMO presence in conventional harvested products. The seed producers and GMO farmers are to be responsible for compensating such losses. With this in mind, farmers who grow GM crops will have to arrange insurance in future.
Farming organisations appeased
The new genetic engineering act is the first set of rules which can be traced back directly to the results of the French environment summit Grenelle de l’environnement. A broad spectrum of social groups have been discussing future environment policy in France since the spring, initially in internal working groups, and then via a series of public consultations throughout October. Plant genetic engineering was the subject of particularly heated debate amongst the participants.
When it became clear that the government was considering a moratorium on the cultivation of GM maize, representatives of farmers and seed producers threatened to boycott the talks for a time. However, when it seemed that the provisional moratorium might be lifted in time for the 2008 maize sowing, they accepted the outcome of the environment summit. The farmers' union FNSEA has since welcomed the submission of the new genetic engineering act. The union is recommending that farmers refrain from purchasing Bt maize seed until the act has been adopted.
More from GMO Safety
- National environment summit in France: Restrictions soon on the cultivation of GM maize?
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