It's not a simple issue, but essentially the US (meaning the Farm Bureau and Monsanto) has pressured the EU commission, which in turn is pressuring the member states.
"European Commission OKs 6 Strains of GM Maize for Food and Feed"
http://ictsd.org/i/news/bridgesweekly/82072/Some member states (Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland and Luxembourg) have banned the cultivation of GM seeds, some have banned nothing allowed by the EU(the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and the UK). And we have Italy, where the rules are so complicated that no one is sure, but the activists have taken matters into their own hands:
"Activists storm field, crush GM maize"
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_60908.shtmlI don't pretend to understand France, which is of course going its own way. They have a national catalog of approved plants, but also have a ban on some of the varieties listed.
"French government concedes ground to GM seed producers"
http://www.agra-net.com/portal2/home.jsp?template=newsarticle&artid=20017802077&pubid=ag002The long-term compromise might be a limited EU approval of some crops, with member choice and further testing.
****** ******
What really pisses me off is that this issue is couched in terms of "science" (much of which is questionable and industry funded) vs. a supposedly irrational and non-scientific community. To me it's a matter of national sovereignty. If they don't want to grow Monsanto shit, they don't have to grow Monsanto shit. It's their fucking country and the US government has no business using it's bully tactics to pressure them into corrupting a local food system which produces the best quality food in the world.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go eat an egg.
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