A GIANT "Mutant Tomato Balloon" hovering over the European parliament failed to muster enough votes from MEPs to impose strict labelling rules on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) also referred to as "Novel Food".
Three German environmental and consumer organisations had organised the demonstration to coincide with the debate on the parliament's attempt to amend the rules on GMOs proposed by the EU Council of Ministers. The council wants labelling to give information on GMOs only when they make a novel food or food ingredient "significantly different from an equivalent existing food.
The Environment Committee of the Parliament also wanted food additives, flavourings, colourings and enzymes which contained or were produced from GMOs to be included in the council directive. The latter only refers to "propagable" organisms such as tomatoes but excludes "non propagable" ones such as tomato ketchup.
The amendments to remedy these defects could not gather the requisite 314 votes needed to change the council position. One amendment which did get through was to remove the word "significantly" so that labelling would he required where GMOs would make a food "different" from an equivalent food but this does not satisfy the protesters. They claim that "the majority of manipulated products would not appear as such to the consumers".
The Fine Gael MEP, Ms Mary Banotti, said "genetic research and its use in food production can potentially be of benefit in combating disease and in pest control" but it remains very much an embryonic development and must be "carefully controlled and monitored".