What the Soybean!!?!

What the Soybean!!?!
The European Commission just approved its first Genetically Engendered soybean, so aptly named “LibertyLink” on Sept. 8 in a so-called written procedure after the Council of Ministers (a democratically elected legislative body) reached a decision of no decision (either approving or rejecting it) last July. This is a HUGE victory for agribusiness and a bleak page for environmentalists, farmers and really anyone who eats in this world.

What happened Europe?
Europe was the only place in the world that was strong enough to stand up to the bio-tech industry. When GE soy, sugar beets and corn first hit farms back in 1996-97, citizens across the continent went out into the night and literally dug up fields of GE crops, sending a message that they didn’t want what Monsanto or DuPont had to offer! As a result, Europe, which is politically and economically powerful enough to mean something to these multi-national corporations, banned all GE foods from entering her boarders. Because genetically engineered crops have such a huge impact on their environment, this was a huge success for conservative farmers and concerned citizens; likewise it was a tremendous thorn in the back of agribusiness. GE crops by their very nature as plants cross-pollinate with other plants. It is not possible to plant GE crops in one area and not contaminate the region, as far as the wind blows. This has been a huge problem for organic farmers in particular who wish to preserve the genetic integrity of their plants. This is one reason that so many farmers and informed citizens have rejected the release of GE crops without sufficient testing. Once a crop is planted and goes to seed there is no going back. Since the ban, biotech firms have been committed to finding ways to erode this powerful legislation. Today it looks to me like they have been successful. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy reported Friday that:

Approval of [LibertyLink and pending Round Up Ready Yield 2] would largely address the problem of how the EU should handle feed shipments for its livestock industries that contain trace elements of GMOs not authorized in the EU, but approved in other countries,…the likelihood of such unauthorized traces in feed shipments from the United States has been reduced, according to U.S. sources. As a result, it is no longer as urgent to develop a policy for how to respond to feed contamination with unauthorized GMOs, they said.
Yes, “unauthorized traces” of GMOs have been reduced because they are now authorized! And it is no longer urgent to develop a policy of how to respond to contamination because the contamination has been approved.

Biotechnology firms pressured the EU to approve LibertyLink as a way to avoid a feed shortage for its livestock industry, since the EU is largely dependent on outside vegetable protein sources to feed its growing meat industry.

I don’t really know what to say, I am so devastated by this decision. The most appalling thing though is that this story is not even being covered. Not in the New York Times, not on NPR, I didn’t even see anything on the Greenpeace website. Please help to spread the word about what is going on here.

To learn more about the technical aspects of LibertyLink check out this article http://www.seedsofdeception.com/utility/showArticle/?objectID=502 For the full IATP article see: http://www.tradeobservatory.org/index.cfm