GM crops good for economy, says MEP

MEPs next Tuesday (13 March) will vote on a report arguing the case for the development of genetically modified (GM) crops in Europe.

The own-initiative report from Finnish liberal MEP Kyösti Virrankoski says that investment in GM agriculture can help Europe meet targets for growth and jobs, under the Lisbon Agenda, and for sustainable development.

"These biotech-nologies," says the report, "facilitate the development of sustainable methods of production, increased yield, higher quality and more diverse products with less use of nitrates and other fertilisers and rational use of water."

Virrankoski said MEPs on the Parliament’s committee on agriculture this January had made it clear that farmers were free to choose between organic, conventional and GM agriculture.

"I think the report will be accepted [next week] more or less as it was approved by the agriculture committee," he added.

The report comes ahead of a mid-term review of the EU life sciences and biotechnology strategy next month.

Environmental lobbyists Friends of the Earth will publish an anti-GM report on the same day as the vote on the Vir­rank­oski report, arguing that EU investment in agricultural biotech­nology is diverting much needed funds from other sectors, including organic farming.

The report will say that "policies on biotechnology have been created by a European political climate under pressure to ensure job creation and competitiveness and… this is masking the reality of poor agri-business performance."

MEPs next Tuesday (13 March) will vote on a report arguing the case for the development of genetically modified (GM) crops in Europe.