The European Commission is about to give the green light to the cultivation of GMO corn NK603Roundup Ready produced by the agro-chemical giant Monsanto, which needs large quantities of Roundup herbicide to grow. If the Commission does not take a step back, the use of the dangerous herbicide in Europe will increase, and with it the cases of genetic malformations caused by its active ingredient - glyphosate.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
La European Commission is on the verge of giving the green light to cultivation of GMO corn NK603Roundup Ready produced by the agro-chemical giant Monsanto, which needs to grow large amounts of Roundup herbicide. If the Commission does not take a step back, the use of the dangerous herbicide in Europe will increase, and with it the cases of genetic malformations caused by its active ingredient - the glyphosate.
To date, it is not possible to estimate how much glyphosate already arrives on our tables without that we can protect ourselves. The EU imports every year 35 million tons of soy and derivatives, used to produce feed and biofuels. Most of this soy comes from South America, Where the GMO variety resistant to Roundup it is the most widespread.
Thanks to an "oversight" in the European legislation that allows not to report on the packaging of meat, dairy products and eggs if they come from animals fed with GMO feed, soy modified to resist Roundup - and the glyphosate residue it contains - goes into the food chain without anyone noticing.
With the introduction in Europe of Monsanto's GMO cropspopulation exposure to glyphosate would increase, and with it the diffusion of pathologies linked to the herbicide. Its use in large agricultural areas would irreparably damage the ecosystem of the places of cultivation: glyphosate would spread in the environment, depleting the soils, penetrating the aquifers and killing plant organisms not designed to resist its action.
Second Claire Robinson, spokesman for Earth Open Sorce, la review of the danger of glyphosate it could slip again, from 2015 to 2030, to the benefit of Monsanto and its efforts to introduce GM corn in Europe. "The European Commission must conduct an audit immediate danger of glyphosate, taking into account the independent scientific literature produced over the years ”, claims Claire Robinson, and deciding on the approval of a culture resistant to Roundup only after this verification.
Also supporting Monsanto in its attempt to grow its GMO corn in Europe is there Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), a sector association in which the WWF plays a key role, and which it sees Monsanto among its main members. Roundup resistant soybeans will soon be certified by RTRS as a "sustainable" soybean, which will help make the marketing of Roundup resistant seeds is misleading, including corn. Thanks to the blessing of the WWF - of which the US agro-chemical giant is a financier - the cultivation of these GMO products risks being perceived as safe and respectful of the environment, despite the scientific literature affirming the contrary.
As denounced in an open letter addressed to operators in the agricultural sector, that of the RTRS sounds like one self-certification from Monsanto. The document released on 7 June last, and signed by organizations such as Friends of the Earth and Soil Association, invites you to do not consider RTRS - condemned by 230 independent bodies in 30 countries - guarantor of the "sustainability" of Monsanto products.
The danger to the health of European consumers is therefore not represented solely by the use that currentlyis made of glyphosate - marked Roundup or not, given that the patent of the active ingredient expired in 2001 -, but from the risk of an uncontrolled increase of its use following the introduction in European crops of seeds designed to resist it.
Gianluca Roccati
