Enjeux - GMOs, a stormy debate

PROBLEMS POSED BY GMOs

A plethora of questions

Despite the benefits they may offer, GMOs raise a plethora of questions, particularly concerning ethics, technological dependence and interspecies rights. Do we have the right to blend the genes of one species with those of another? Do we need to make legislation on these aspects and impose limits? Should companies be allowed to patent living matter like manufacturers patent inventions? Is it right that these companies take and appropriate genes naturally present in plants, bacteria and other living organisms? Couldn’t this legitimately be considered as ‘bio-piracy’? In the long-term, isn’t it likely that variety innovation/selection will be concentrated in the hands of a few multinationals? That the majority of the planet’s agricultural production will depend on a handful of private corporations? These are just some of the questions posed by anti-GM movements.

Gene dissemination in the environment

GMO cultivation also raises environmental issues, in particular on the risk of gene dissemination in farmland bordering GM crops. The pollen of GM varieties can be transported by the wind or by insects over considerable distances and come into contact with non-GM plants of the same species, weeds bordering fields, and cultivated plants. The seeds resulting from this cross-pollination can themselves carry the gene of the GM variety. Anti-GM movements have long been fighting this risk in France, occasionally destroying GM crops and trials.

Moratorium on GM cultivation in France…

Under the pressure of anti-GM movements and in response to the fears of French society, the French government introduced a moratorium in early 2008 that led to a complete ban on GM cultivation in the country. This decision was seen as a victory by anti-GMs but provoked great disappointment in pro-GM circles. This political stance also conflicted with the viewpoint of European scientists. The cultivation of GM varieties is still authorised in other European countries, notably Spain, where nearly 40,000 ha of moth-resistant GM corn hybrids are cultivated.   
In 2009, for the first time since the mid-1980s and the first work on GMOs, no GMO trials were authorised in France.
    
… but GM imports are still allowed

The cultivation of GM varieties is banned today in France. But imports are still allowed, and the EU and France import large amounts, particularly soya bean used in animal feed. Pro-GMO farmers find this paradox unfair and incoherent.

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