Co-existing with GMOs?” “

The debate on whether it is possible to introduce into European agriculture the American model of co-existence between traditional agriculture and genetically modified organisms (Gmo) has entered its acute phase. On the one side, there are those who foresee the risk of ‘de-naturing’ crops, to the detriment of the crops themselves and of the consumer; on the other, there seems to be growing support for the view of those who see in controlled Gmos the only way of guaranteeing the survival of crops in response to the threats posed by climate change and new forms of plant diseases. The new Eu legislation seems indeed to be going in the direction of an American agricultural model in which Gmos co-exist with natural crops. We put some questions to Gerard Choplin , agronomist, who heads the European Coordination of Farmers (Cpe). What do you think of the new European legislation on Gmo? “The new legislation has the pretext of realizing the co-existence between an agriculture ‘with’ and an agriculture ‘without’ Gmos. This co-existence is in practice impossible, and the Union had opted for an inevitable and irreversible contamination of European agriculture”. Are there ethical aspects that need to be taken into consideration? “The use of Gmos represents a biological regression. When one mixes together the genes of different species that the biological evolution of billions of years has separated (e.g. if one inserts fish genes into tomatoes), one returns to an embryonic stage of evolution. Have we the right to do that?”. What are the advantages of the diffusion of Gmos on the European market? “No advantage. On the contrary, farmers will be ever more dependent on the companies producing seeds, chemical composts and Gmos. Gradually, the crops will be contaminated. The European legislation will defend the right – which no one claims – to consume genetically modified organisms, while the right to chose foods without Gmos will be violated”.