searching for the debate at the EU parliament I found this ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/europe-25717211
Today is the voting ...
bees shall win.
1. 1731:
And so the plenary session continues, as MEPs begin a debate on a
directive on honey.
2. 1732:
The debate centres around a proposals by the European Commissino to
define pollen as a "natural constituent" of Europe rather than an
ingredient. This has been broadly supported by the parliament's negotiator
on the proposal, British Conservative Julie Girling, but was opposed by a
majority of MEPs on the Environment Committee.
3. 1733:
In 2011 the Court of Justice ruled that pollen was an "ingredient"
rather than a "constituent". "Quite frankly, the Court is wrong", says Ms
Girling at the outset of her speech. She says opposing the Commission's
proposals and siding with the Court would lead to an "unnecessary labelling
burden".
4. 1734:
Existing labelling laws say that GMOs present in a quantity of more than
0.9% shall be indicated. If pollen was an ingredient it would have to be
tested for GM content, and Ms Girling criticises opponents for wanting to
go down this route.
5. 1736:
Ms Girling, who represents the South West of England, says opponents
would be "lying to consumers by saying that pollen is an ingredient of
honey", and says they are "using honey producers as collateral damage in
their battle against GM products".
6. 1738:
Public Health Commissioner Tonio Borg says the status of pollen as a
constituent is "not about what the Commission says and what the Court says,
but about what nature says".
7. 1740:
He defends the Commission's stance. "Pollen is not something added to
honey as an ingredient. Otherwise honey would be defined as a manufactured
product rather than a natural product - this would confuse consumers".
8. 1756:
Just a few speakers in and we're already hearing a wide range of views.
Belgian Green Bart Staes says that the Parliament should agree with the
Court's view that pollen is an ingredient because, he says, "it gets into
the honey through human action through the centrifuging of the honey."
9. 1756:
However speaking from the Liberal group, the German MEP Britta Reimer
warns that, "if we continue like this, we will start saying that eggs are
an ingredient of hens. It makes no sense to start legislating for biology."
10. 1806:
It is interesting to see that the German Christian Democrat MEP Renate
Sommer is broadly supporting the Commission's proposal. She was the
European Parliament's negotiator on the food labelling directive.
11. 1809:
A quote from the British Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies - "these bees
are good bees doing good jobs and the Greens should lay off them". He says
that according to the European Food Safety Authority there is no danger to
the public from GM crops.
12. 1811:
The Slovenian EPP MEP Alojz Peterle - a former prime minister of
Slovenia - says that it's not a matter of whether pollen is an ingredient
or a constituent, but that the key issue is making sure the consumer knows
what is in the product.
13. 1811:
The EU accounts for around 13% of global honey production, around
200,000 tonnes a year.
14. 1822:
Spain is the largest producer, followed by Italy, Hungary, Romania and
Portugal.
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