Studies linking genetically modified crops with adverse effects on the environment or animal health are based on “contested science”, according to a recent report by the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC), which received backing from Anne Glover, the EU’s chief scientific advisor.
The report from EASAC, published in June, warns of the “grave scientific, economic and social consequences of current European Union policy towards GM crops”, saying European countries should “rethink” their widespread rejection of the technology.
The study came as a blow to environmentalists opposing GMOs as it received backing from the national science academies of all EU member states, plus Norway and Switzerland.
It has now received support from the EU’s chief scientific advisor, Anne Glover, who described it as “an authoritative, joint statement of the national science academies in the EU member states.”
“The conclusions of the report are based on the best possible evidence and I endorse its conclusions whole-heartedly,” Glover told EurActiv in an interview.
In Europe, countries that do not embrace GMOs “will face particular problems with the use of fertilisers, the availability of water and the degradation of soils,” the report warns, noting that improvements in farm yields for major crops have remained “limited or non-existent” in the past decade.
“Producing more food sustainably requires crops that make better use of limited resources including land, water and fertiliser,” which can be achieved through the exploitation of plant genetic resources, the report notes.
“But so long as EU policies on farming and the environment are out of alignment with the need to innovate, ambitions to improve agriculture will be thwarted,” it warns.
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