NPG; Conferentie GGO-vrij Berlijn jan06
From Talk2000.NL
www. gmo-free-regions.org
[edit] Invitation to the Second European GMO-free Regions Conference
Will genetically modified crops soon flourish in Europe? Certainly not, if it was up to its citizens to decide. A solid majority of Europeans don’t want GMOs in their food. Still, some agro-chemical companies and their scientific and governmental partners are pushing hard to introduce GM crops into European agriculture. As a result, more than 160 regions, 3500 municipalities and local authorities, and tens of thousands of farmers in Europe have declared themselves "GMO-free" reclaiming their rights to local and regional self-determination with regard to their landscapes and eco-systems, their agricultural practices and food traditions and their future economic development. All these issues would be substantially affected by the introduction of genetically modified crops in European agriculture and the implications of so-called "co-existence" between GM and non-GM farming.
Representatives of GMO-free regions and initiatives all over Europe - farmers and scientists, regional administrators and politicians, members of environmental and consumer organisations - will meet for this two day conference during Berlin’s annual "International Green Week", Europe's largest agricultural fair. In panel discussions, workshops and presentations they will share their experience, knowledge and strategies to keep European regions free of genetically engineered crops. Representatives from European institutions, science and business will present and discuss their information and sometimes controversial positions on the issue.
In January 2005 two hundred participants from 28 countries in Europe adopted a "Berlin Manifesto" at the first "European Conference on GMO-free Regions, Biodiversity & Rural Development Regions," announcing a new cooperation on their common trans-regional interests in the EU. Through diverse strategies they have been greatly successful over the past year, and a dynamic international network has emerged. National and regional legislation and measures to prevent or restrict the growing of GM crops were considered and regional governments set up joint working groups on technical, scientific and economic issues. In addition to not growing GM crops in their own regions, farmers and food processors have started finding sources of non-GM animal feed for their GM-free animal products.
During the first half of 2006, the EU Commission and the Austrian government, then holding the EU presidency, will organise a discussion on the need for EU-wide "coexistence" measures between GM and non-GM agriculture. Regional and local self-determination will be at stake in this political process as well as EU-wide standards of liability, "good agricultural practice" and environmental protection. At the same time, massive scientific and industry efforts have been started on the "Sustainable Introduction of GMOs into European agriculture" (SIGMEA), as one of these EU programs is actually called. The European Union, having lifted its 5-year long moratorium on GMO approvals, is preparing to decide on applications for the cultivation of new GM varieties. In some countries small acreages of GM crops have been planted for the first time, which has led to confrontations in the fields. For the 2006 planting season, Monsanto and other GMO companies are expected to make concerted efforts to introduce more GM crops in a number of EU countries.
In this situation it is of great importance for activists, organisations and local and regional authorities to devise common strategies and demands, and to improve their level of knowledge, cooperation and mutual support. At the same time, the Berlin conference aims to present the case for GMO-free regions to the broader international public during the International Green Week in Berlin.
Programma, inschrijving, kosten: http://www.gmo-free-regions.org/conference-2006.html
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