THE GOVERNMENT’s reversal of its policy to abstain on European Union decisions to allow some genetically modified food into the EU has been criticised by its former Green Party coalition partners.
Minister for Agriculture, Brendan Smith announced yesterday that Ireland would now support a number of proposals on allowing the marketing of food, food ingredients and feed consisting of or produced from genetically modified (GM) maize and cotton.
Ireland, he said, would also support EU Commission proposals to introduce a tolerance for the low level presence of, as yet, unauthorised GM varieties in imports of animal feed.
His statement said Ireland’s support for the commission proposals will be confirmed at a meeting of the EU standing committee on the food chain and animal health in Brussels today.
“Applications for authorisation for the particular GM varieties have been made to the EU Commission and have been given a positive opinion by the European Food Safety Authority, a position with which the Food Safety Authority of Ireland concurs,” it continued.
Trevor Sargent, the Green Party TD and former minister for food, said that when in government the Green Party ensured Ireland abstained in this vote.
“This is a clear a U-turn by Fianna Fáil following the Green’s departure from government.
“It shows the Greens were always on the side of the consumer and producers and had been making a real difference in terms of protecting Ireland’s reputation for high quality food,” he said.
“Here is another example of where the influence of big business on Fianna Fáil comes before what the public interest.
“This is a backward step for Irish agriculture, and will serve to undermine our reputation with European consumers,” he said
The Minister’s statement, which was welcomed by the Irish Farmers’ Association, said it had been a matter of great concern to Ireland, in recent years that there has been a severe disruption to the trade of animal feed caused by the delays in the authorisation, by the EU, of GM varieties which have already been approved in the exporting countries.
“Over 90 per cent of the protein feed for Ireland’s livestock comes from soya and maize by-products imported from North and South America, practically all of which contains GM varieties sown in those countries,” he said.
“Exporting countries find it increasingly difficult to segregate feed that contains GM varieties that have yet to be authorised and, where segregation is possible, it contributes to increased costs of feed,” he went on.
But Mr Sargent rejected Mr Smith’s claim that GM-free animal feed was difficult to source saying it was freely available at a small premium.
He also said Fine Gael and Labour would support Fianna Fáil in its latest move.
IFA president John Bryan said that at a time of rising input costs, it was critical that Irish producers were not left at a disadvantage because of delays in authorising feed.
Mr Bryan said pig producers, in particular, have been under severe pressure as their input costs have risen dramatically in the last six months and were losing € 15 on every pig produced.
A contrary view was taken by the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association, which described the Government support of the European Commission decision to scrap the “zero tolerance” food safety policy, as a short-sighted move.
“EU consumers have continually stated that they do not wish to have GM ingredients in the human food chain.
“The fact that the EU , now supported by the Irish Government, is bowing to pressure from the GM multinationals mainly based in the US does not bode well for EU consumers,” said spokeswoman Grace Maher.