BIOMASS HUB

Paul Voosen of Greenwire reports that the EU approved the first new genetically modified (GM) crop for domestic growing in more than a decade.  The decision by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding treaties, and the general day-to-day running of the EU, will allow farmers to grow Amflora potatoes, a controversial GM crop developed by the German chemical giant BASF.

The potatoes, which can be used solely for industrial or animal feed purposes, are the first crop to be approved for farming since a strain of Monsanto’s insect-resistant corn 12 years ago.  The potatoes are engineered to produce high levels of starch for use in paper production or textiles.

The decision opens the door to other GM crops to win approval from the Commission.  The decision includes an announcement that the Commission is proceeding with plans to allow European countries to independently decide if GM crops can be grown in their borders.  The move, long expected, is a remarkable development in an institution that has traditionally focused on creating a single European market for nearly every industry, including agriculture.

The EU regulates GMOs despite a 2006 ruling by the WTO, which held that the EU ban violates international free trade.  The EU’s stance has limited trade between the US, Canada, and Argentina, which together grow 80 percent of the world’s biotech crops sold commercially (EU’s ban contributed to Mansanto’s decision to remove their seed cereal business in Europe).

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is one of the first international agreements to regulate the transboundary transfer of GMOs.  The Cartagena Protocol relies primarily on the precautionary principle, which reflects the recognition that scientific certainty often comes too late to design effective legal and policy responses for preventing many potential environmental threats.  Questions about the downstream health risks associated with genetically-modified food have invoked this principle and led to what has been a zero-tolerance policy in the EU.

Given energy crops’ dependence on fossil fuel and water inputs, genetic modification will play an important role in advancing biofuel’s future competitiveness.

Image: Flickr/Chiot’s Run