Germany to Allow Import of GMOs

After months of negotiations, the German government has agreed to allow the cultivation and sale of genetically modified crops in Germany.

Calling the bill “a great success for consumers and farmers,“ Renate Künast, the minister for consumer protection, food and agriculture, presented the main features of the new law on Monday and said the cabinet would approve it next month.

Germany, where the pro-environmentalist Greens - Künast's party - are part of the governing coalition, has long been considered one of the most skeptical countries toward genetically modified organisms, so-called GM crops. Künast indicated that the new law could pave the way for more acceptance of them across the entire European Union, which last month delayed a decision on lifting its four-year-old moratorium on the authorization of new GM products for import into the EU, although it has long allowed some food ingredients containing small concentrations of GM foods.

The German draft fulfills an EU requirement to set clear rules on the cultivation of GM crops, and stipulates that GM foods sold in Germany must be clearly labeled. “It's in the hands of the consumers what ends up on their plates," said Künast.

Consumer and environmental associations disagreed. Edda Müller, a board member of the Federation of German Consumer Organizations, was disappointed that the labeling requirement did not apply to animal feed or to food served in restaurants, schools and hospitals. “This means that practically 60 percent to 70 percent of food containing GM organisms will bear no label,“ she said.

Künast formerly opposed GM crops but was under pressure to compromise with the Research and Economics ministries. She can, however, claim as successes the labeling obligation and a regulation whereby farmers whose conventional crops are contaminated with GM organisms because of cross-pollination between fields can claim compensation from GM farmers in their area.

Fields on which GM crops are grown will have to be kept at a minimum distance from fields for conventional crops, but since cross-pollination cannot be ruled out and is difficult to trace, all GM farmers within a prescribed distance will be liable if a conventional farmer's crops are “contaminated“ and can no longer be sold as GM-free.

On other important aspects, though, the minister had to yield. Farmers will not have to seek authorization for planting GM crops in certain areas defined as “ecologically sensitive“ - a model supported by Künast. Neither did the minister succeed in her determination to stop the use of tax money to develop new GM varieties.

Whether Germany will now offer huge market potential to GM producers is an open question. Polls show that, unlike in the United States, most consumers in Europe are skeptical about claims that GM foods pose no risk to their health or the environment. Said a spokeswoman for the environmental group Greenpeace, Corinna Hölzel: “GM food doesn't stand a chance on the market.“

Farmers might also be deterred from cultivating GM crops because the proposed compensation rules would make doing so “an incalculable risk,“ said Gerd Sonnleitner, the president of the German Farmers' Association.