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Written by Truth About Trade & Technology
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Wednesday, 15 July 2009 16:36 |
Farmers Guardian
July 14, 2009
Author: William Surman
Publication: Farmers Guardian
Date: Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Via: AgBios
A BURGOEONING ‘anti-science’ culture is threatening Europe’s ability to tackle food security, the Crop Protection Association has warned.
Dominic Dyer, CPA chief executive, said Europe’s farmers would fail to meet future food demand if politicians continued in their quest to block genetically modified technology and to remove pesticide products from the market place ‘without any scientific justification or impact assessment’.
“Tackling food security in the face of global population growth, climate change and declining natural resources is a challenge which cannot be met without access to the most advanced developments in agricultural technology.
“Europe’s ability to tackle this issue will be seriously constrained unless politicians across the EU are prepared to confront the anti-science culture which currently dominates the European decision-making process,” he said
Mr Dyer was speaking in response to a crop protection factsheet published by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) last month.
The factsheet assessed the potentially damaging impact for UK agriculture and horticulture of EU Regulation 91/414 on pesticide authorisations. However, Mr Dyer said the document missed an opportunity to highlight negative impacts of the new Regulation which threatens to remove a host of crop protection products from the market place.
“The stark facts missing from the POST report are that EU plans to slash the number of pesticides available to Europe’s farmers will not only reduce crop yields and quality, but will also lead to higher food prices, increased food safety risks, a higher carbon footprint and job losses in UK food production,” he said.
Mr Dyer said ‘sound science’ had been ignored for the sake of ‘short-term political expediency’ and called for greater scientific input in future decision making.
“The EU must act to strengthen the independent scientific advice it receives, and to re-position modern, science-based agriculture where it belongs - as a central part of the economy, at the heart of our future economic, social and environmental development,” he said.
The UK Government is seen as one of the most pro-science member states in Europe, backing GM technology and battling to soften regulation on pesticides, however, Ministers are usually left frustrated by a blocking majority of member states, led by France.
SOURCE: FARMERS GUARDIAN
agbios.com
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