EU Faces Busy GMO Timetable but No End to Deadlock

[nosmokes]

original

EU Faces Busy GMO Timetable but No End to Deadlock

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BRUSSELS - EU governments face a slew of decisions in the next few months on whether to allow more imports of genetically modified (GMO) foods but nothing is expected that might break Europe's deadlock over biotechnology.

With EU institutions mostly closed in August, ministers and national experts will be asked to process a backlog of applications for new GMO approvals in four crammed months.

That doesn't necessarily mean they will be able to agree.

In fact, although the EU ended its six-year unofficial biotech ban in May 2004, the last time national governments could agree on authorising a new GMO product was back in 1998.
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NO END TO DEADLOCK

EU countries have ended meetings in deadlock 14 times in a row, either as ministers or national experts, on approving new GMOs usually for use in industrial processing or as animal feed. Consumer opinion has been overwhelmingly opposed to GMO foods.
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Around six "live" GMOs are waiting for approval -- maize and rapeseed types, and a starch potato -- but no dates have been set for any meeting.
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Fewer than half of EU states have proper coexistence laws despite reminders from the Commission to use its guidelines on separation distances and natural crop buffers like hedgerows.
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Story by Jeremy Smith

Story Date: 18/8/2005

complete story at linky

All Contents
© Reuters News Service 2005

[wli]

1. GMO's may have issues, but Monsanto's dealings bug me more

Specifically, Monsanto did business with I.G. Farben in 1967. I.G. Farben is the holding company that owned and operated Auschwitz during WWII, and was supposed to be dissolved immediately but was not in fact dissolved until 2003.

Endorsing Monsanto is rewarding a company that helped deny Holocaust survivors their reparations. On these grounds alone Monsanto should be boycotted, if not dissolved or otherwise put under severe official sanctions (e.g. made to pay reparations to Holocaust survivors).

[Koeln]

2. IG Farben

I know it is a little bit off topic but IG Farben did not exist as a operating company more of less since the end of WWII.

IG farben as the biggest and most important german company at that time had close ties to the NS state and was very important for the german military.

After WWII the winning countries split the IG Farben company into a lot of smaller companies as BAYER BASF Hoechst AGFA etc etc.

A lot of factors like close contacts to standard oil in the US and others helped these companies and their high ranking managers to survive.

In the nurnerber trials 1948 only a small number of managers were found guilty and received only small punishments. The US and the other western partners needed these people ( like other former Nazis)to build west germany.

[newyawker99]

4. Hi koeln!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Koeln]

7. by the way

Should that be beer?

I grow up in a wine region but now i live in Cologne and prefer Kölsch

It´s a regional special beer which gets only produced in this city but has 90% of the local market.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6lsch_%28beer%29

or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_beer

[wli]

5. they weren't formally dissolved until 2003 n/t

[Koeln]

6. you are right but

IG farben was no real company. They produce nothing etc.

There were two main reason why the name IG farben exists for such a long time.
1. They tried to regain the money and asstes of IG farben that IG farben owned before the war in foreign countries as the US and others.

2. To deal with the slavery workers and other organisation that want reparation for the crimes during the NZ era. That was very important especially for the companies as Bayer Basf etc to be secured on this issue.

So IG Farben was mainly a object of speculation on the stock market.

[I concur]

3. what's the solution?

...GMO foods have not been proven safe IMHO. Most EU countries, in practice, use practices such as human waste for fertilizer. Remember where Mad Cow originated?