Greece to further test, destroy any GM cotton crops
Date: 04-Jul-00
Country: GREECE
Author: Dina Kyriakidou
The Agriculture Ministry said initial tests showed accidental mixing of GM seeds in cotton planted this year, contrary to a European Union ban on gene-altered cotton.
"After the results of more detailed tests...any cotton found to be genetically engineered will be uprooted," Agriculture Minister George Anomeritis told a news conference. "The farmers will be completely compensated."
The minister said 3,100 samples were tested from 14,000 tonnes of seeds, of which 10,000 tonnes were planted. Out of 2,518 results in, 69 had been contaminated.
"These positive tests will be sent for quantitative testing, to trace the extent of the contamination," he said.
The minister would not say how many hectares this could affect but added that the problem was "extremely limited".
But Greenpeace, which brought the GE cotton issue to light last month, said that this could mean destroying nearly 20,000 acres of cotton crops.
"If 2.74 percent of tests were positive, then this could mean 2.74 percent of the 400,000 hectares of cotton Greece usually plants annually should be destroyed," Greenpeace Greece director Stelios Psomas told Reuters.
Envriromentalists strongly oppose gene-altered crops and foods, fearing they contaminate nature and pose health risks. Greenpeace had warned that any cotton destruction should be done before the plants bloom.
"Blooming begins in mid-July and that means genetic pollution," Psomas said. "Now that we have official proof, we demand immediate destruction (of affected plants) and compensation for farmers."
Anomeritis said he could not say whether the additional testing would be done before the plants bloom.
"I hope (they will be completed) within 15 days at the latest," Anomeritis said.
The European Union bans any gene-altered cotton. Greece, a major cotton exporter, receives EU subsidies for an industry that supports hundreds of thousands of farmers.
Greece does not legally allow GM cotton seed to be imported or used and ministry officials could not explain how the tested seeds were contaminated. They said seeds could have been mixed in the fields, during processing or packing.
Anomeritis said the ministry was setting up a special committee on GM agricultural products to deal with such problems in future.