We are concerned about Bayer´s EU application for a marketing approval for glufosinate tolerant rice LL 62.
In the US a similar type of genetically engineered rice, LL 601, has been found in samples of supplies destined for human consumption. LL Rice 601 has not been tested for safety for human consumption and was never authorised by regulators.
Nevertheless LL Rice 601 found its way into the European Union‚s retail food sector. So even after more than 10 years of trials, the biotech industry is not able to guarantee the coexistence of GM and non-GM crops. The incident shows that risks linked with modified rice can´t be controlled in the long term. Bayer´s environmental risk assessment and monitoring plan for LL Rice 62 do not give sufficient consideration to the possibility of the escape of this GM organism through accidental spillage of grains in southern Europe, where rice could grow and contaminate non GM crops.
An authorization would not only be a threat to European consumers but also to farmers and the environment in developing countries. Rice is the staple food for more than one-half of the world‘s population. A European approval of GM rice would allow Bayer to promote GM rice cultivation in developing countries, especially in Asia. This could lead to genetic contamination of existing rice cultivation in the centres of origin and diversity and could jeopardise biodiversity and thus the principal food source in the developing world. The negative impact would fall most heavily on the most vulnerable, the rural poor.
more information:
=> May 2013: BAYER GM Rice found in Turkey
=> March 2013: Countermotion to Bayer Shareholder Meeting
=> July 4, 2011 Bayer compensates US farmers
=> US: Rice Farmers Awarded $136.8 Million
=> Florida professor: Bayer responsible for contamination
=> RICE FARMER COMPENSATED IN CASES OVER CROP CONTAMINATION
=> No GM Rice in Brazil !
=> Staple food endangered: EU urged not to approve Bayer´s GM Rice
=> US: BAYER ordered to pay damages
=> Bayer clamps down on GM rice protest in India
=> GM Rice contamination
=> Letter to the European Food Safety Authority
=> Reject Bayer’s application to import genetically modified rice into the EU
=> BAYER URGED TO QUIT GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD
=> Second Kind Of Bayer GM Rice Detected In EU
The risks of LL Rice: http://www.cbgnetwork.org/downloads/GP%20and%20FOE%20briefing%20LL62rice.pdf