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Public consultations to start on GM foods Tuesday, August 5, 2008
In view of the strong opposition to GMO production in the country, the Polish government is to launch public consultations this week on the draft of new legislation prepared by the Ministry of Environment that would take account of the European Union`s regulations obliging member countries to introduce GMO and yet at the same time respect the anxieties of those very many Poles who argue that genetically modified food is dangerous.
It follows from a survey conducted by the PBS DGA market research company for the "Gazeta Wyborcza" weekly that resistance against GMO in Poland is very strong. Sixty percent of Poles believe that eating genetically modified food products is health hazardous. As many as two in three Poles would not buy such food even if it was significantly cheaper than traditional products. And Poles do not want GMO plants to be cultivated in Poland, either.
Commenting on the survey results, Environment Minister, Professor Maciej Nowicki said: "The Polish public has showed wisdom and caution towards things we aren`t prepared for and know little about". Minister Nowicki who is an ecology specialist, former deputy head of the UN Commission for Sustainable Development and an opponent of GMO foods, believes the survey results would strengthen his hand in talks with the European Commission on the matter.
Poland and Brussels have been in a legal dispute over GMO. The Commission filed a lawsuit against Poland in the European Tribunal of Justice for passing a law banning GMO seeds and animal fodders.
The draft of new legislation drawn up by the Ministry of Environment is an attempt at complying with EU directives half-way. While not banning GMO production outright, it gives the provincial authorities the right to establish GMO-free areas (covering even the whole province) where production of genetically modified food would be prohibited under the threat of severe penalties. Special land protection zones will have to be set up around areas where GMO is produced. The draft also envisages penalties of even up to three year imprisonment for persons introducing genetically modified food onto the market without official permission.
Commenting on the draft act, Professor Tomasz Twardowski, molecular biologist at the Polish Academy of Sciences` Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry argues that there is no scientific evidence to justify the Polish government`s restrictive approach to GMO. On the other hand, representatives of the Polish Greenpeace find the draft not prohibitive enough to ensure Poland the status of a GMO-free country.
Commentators point out that Poland is not alone in opposing GMO foods. Support for such food is even lower in many other EU countries: in Austria, France, Latvia and Greece respectively only 25, 29, 19 and 12 percent of the population is in favour of GMO.
Copyrights © Polish Market 2008
Source: Polish Market
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