Place
Date

Name campaigner/organisation

Dear Sir, madam,

We are writing to you to raise concern about the (possible) cultivation –in …..- of genetically modified (GM) maize  of the type MON 810, produced and distributed by Monsanto. MON 810 maize is the only GM crop that is authorised for cultivation throughout the EU.

We are calling on you to urgently forbid the commercial growing of this maize on your territory and to apply article 23 (the so called “safeguard clause”) of EU Directive 2001/18, which allows EU member states to “provisionally restrict or prohibit the use and/or sale” of a GMO authorised by the EU if there are “detailed grounds for considering that a GMO (….) constitutes a risk to human health or the environment”.
 
Monsanto’s genetically modified maize MON810 can be considered a risk to the environment, human health and farming for a number of reasons. Indeed the evidence for potential harm is so strong that four EU member states (Austria, Greece, Hungary and Poland) have already put a national ban on Monsanto’s maize MON 810 in place. The legitimacy of these decisions was confirmed by the EU Council of Environmental Ministers who supported the Austrian and Hungarian bans by overwhelming majority on respectively 18 December 2006 and 20 February 2007.

Inherent lack of safety of GM crops and foods

Recently new studies have been published that seriously question the general safety of GM crops and GM foods and that cast doubt over the reliability of the EU’s authorisation system for GMOs. In March 2007 a study by French scientists from the University of Caen proved that laboratory rats, fed with Monsanto’s GM maize MON863, have shown signs of toxicity in kidneys and liver.  As MON 863 maize is already cleared for human and animal consumption, the French study seriously undermines the credibility of the current EU authorisation system for GM products. This credibility is further undermined by the fact that even the European Commission – who has been responsible for the commercial approval of a wide range of GM products – raises serious doubts (behind closed doors) about the inherent safety of GM products. In confidential documents submitted to the WTO the Commission admits that  “there is no unique, absolute, scientific cut off threshold available to decide whether a GM product is safe or not." 

Specific concerns about Monsanto’s MON 810

Monsanto’s GM maize MON 810 was first approved for commercial cultivation in the EU in 1998. Under the old Directive 90/220, there was no obligation to carry out a thorough environmental risk assessment. The new Directive 2001/18 enforces a risk assessment that includes looking at the long-term and indirect effects of growing GMOs. In the absence of such assessments, the effects that growing MON 810 could have on the environment of …. are largely unknown. Since the original approval of MON 810 under the old Directive in 1998, there has been a host of studies that have shown alarming results, for example:

• A study by Swiss researchers found less flying insects in Bt maize fields. Flying
insects are important food sources for insect-eating birds, such as swallows, and
for bats.

• A study published in 2003 found that earthworms feeding on litter from Bt maize
showed a weight loss (compared to a weight gain of earthworms feeding on litter
from non-GM maize). Earthworms are extremely important for nutrient cycling in
soils.

On top of this evidence, the EU Commission themselves have written that: "It is a reasonable and lawful position that insect-resistant crops (MON 810 is an insect resistant crop) should not be planted until all the effects on the soil are known.” 

Impossible coexistence

One of the major concerns about GM crops is that they spread in an uncontrollable way and contaminatenon-GM crops (and thus in non GM food and honey). GM pollen, seeds and grains can easily be transferred by the wind, via insects, (farm) animals and humans during transportation, storage and processing. Scandals such as the affair around Bt10, an unauthorised GM maize that entered the EU’s environment and food chain for four years without being noticed, emphasize that the genetic engineering industry is not able to control its own products. The larger the scale on which GM crops are grown, the more difficult it will become to maintain a GM free agriculture and to guarantee the right of  consumers, farmers and beekeepers to eat and produce GM free products. Therefore the only true guarantee against genetic contamination is a ban on the cultivation of GM organisms.  

GM ban not contradicting WTO ruling 

It is important to notice that the ruling by the World Trade Organistaion (WTO) panel in 2006 DID NOT question the right of EU countries to ban GMOs. Nor did did not question the right of countries’ to strict biosafety regulations. Whilst the specific bans under consideration as part of the Dispute were judged to be illegal, this was only on technicalities (under the SPS agreement) and does not impact any new bans. In the past, the EU has decided in similar cases – such as the beef hormone case – to stand firm and maintain its ban even after the case had been lost on the basis of the SPS Agreement. EU member states and the Commission should therefore stand firm in the face of WTO pressure on the use of the Safeguard Clause.

Conclusion

Given the evidence outlined above, we urge you to put in place -as soon as possible- a ban on the cultivation of Monsanto’s maize MON 810. A reassessment procedure for MON 810 maize is just beginning  at EU level, as required under EU law. This procedure could take a long time, but it does not suspend the current authorization, which is based on outdated and inadequate legislation. 

It is unacceptable that a GM crop that raises so many safety concerns can freely circulate in the EU. Continuing this situation may cause irreversible damage to the environment, to human and animal health, and to the economic interests of GM free farming. Therefore we urge you to

•	Put in place a national ban on Monsanto’s MON 810 maize 

•	Make sure that MON 810 maize and other GM products are (re) assessed according to the highest safety standards and in the respect of the legal requirements set by EU legislation, taking new scientific evidence into consideration as well as re-evaluating existing research in the light of new evidence