excerpts from:

Why is the EU so against GM crops?  Unfortunately, the reason is political expediency.

EU politicians will not come off the fence on the subject of GM crops for fear of upsetting a small but vocal minority. The main opponents are the environmental lobby, who would rather accept the unnecessary use of hazardous chemical pesticides rather than acquiescing to the growth of GM crops, the safety of which has been proven by more than 15 years of cultivation around the world with not a single reported adverse effect. 

The European organic lobby also opposes GM crops, seeking to protect their price premiums for products which are now known to be no more healthy or beneficial than any other crop. The de facto moratorium on GM agriculture in Europe is an economic issue, not a safety issue as these opponents would like the public to believe.

Others object to GM technology on the basis that it is controlled by "big business," but this ignores the fact that agriculture itself is dominated by big businesses that produce and distribute seeds. The business model adopted for GM technology is no different than that in use for conventional agricultural products. The "big business" fear mongering is more straw man than actual bogeyman.

The time has come to fight against this insidious attack on the progress of European science. It is fair to ask questions, demand answers, and ask for evidence of safety. But it is not fair to continue an aggressive campaign of Luddite opposition when all the evidence supports a positive role for GM agriculture in Europe. 

If we pander to a vocal but ignorant minority, the EU will end up the poor cousin in a world of growing affluence, where those willing to embrace biotechnology and its ability to address the global challenges of hunger, poverty, disease will become the future’s new economic leaders.

By Gemma Masip, Maite Sabalza, Eduard Pérez-Massot, Raviraj Banakar, David Cebrian, Richard M. Twyman, Teresa Capell, Ramon Albajes, and Paul Christou

Gemma Masip, Maite Sabalza, Eduard Pérez-Massot, Raviraj Banakar, David Cebrian, Teresa Capell, Ramon Albajes, and Paul Christou work in the Department of Plant Production and Forestry Science at the University of Lleida-Agrotecnio in Spain. Richard M. Twyman works at TRM Ltd in the United Kingdom. And Christou also has an appointment at the Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis AvanÇats in Barcelona.

http://www.the-scientist.com//?articles.view/articleNo/35578/title/Opinion--Don-t-Fear-GM-Crops--Europe-/
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