"Cutting off our nose to spite our face" - Jim Allister's verdict on EU stance on GM animal feed
18 December 2007
Taking part in the GM animal feed hearing on Tuesday 18th December in the Agriculture Committee in Brussels, Jim Allister MEP reiterated the need for urgent action by the EU. This, he warned, is an issue of concern for everyone involved in the consumer food chain, with repercussions on food prices and security of supply, and the effects due to intensify during the course of 2008.
"Not only", said the MEP, "are EU farmers spending 55% more on animal feed than elsewhere in the world, but they do not have access to the cheapest feed supplies (GM soya and maize) and are currently paying a premium of €70/tonne premium for non-GM. In consequence the EU livestock sector is increasingly uncompetitive against imported meats from countries such as Brazil and Thailand which use GM feed."
Mr Allister continued, "We really are cutting off our nose to spite our face in Europe. We won't let our farmers use cheaper GM varieties but then outsource food supply to countries which not only use GM, but produce their food under lesser regulatory standards than we insist upon in the EU. How does that serve consumer or producer interests?
It is a lamentable failure of the EU that after years of deliberation we are still bogged down in a conundrum over GM. Talk about "fiddling while Rome burns"; we have an intensive sector going to the wall and all some seem able to do is get excited lest a speck of GM should touch the politically correct garb in which they wrap themselves.
I say it is vital that EU farmers have freedom to choose any type of animal feed that meets their customers demands - GM or otherwise. Isn't that what the free market, which Brussels loves to espouse, supposed to be about? To get there we must have synchronous approvals between the EU and major suppliers and we must abandon the folly of zero tolerance to facilitate international transport of animal feed and compounds.
There are enough pressures on our livestock sectors without this self-inflicted lunacy. We cannot allow EU meat production to go into decline at a time of huge pressure on supplies worldwide. To do so would involve an unacceptable risk in terms of security of EU supply of quality meat at affordable prices, as well as having serious consequences for EU biodiversity, landscapes and the rural economy."
