New report finds Commission's proposals should be abandoned and open releases should be banned
The European Commission has proposed the deregulation of open releases of GM micro-organisms (GMMs) into the environment, including a ‘fast track’ procedure to approve releases of some GMMs. The proposals will be debated by a joint committee of the European Parliament (Health and Environment) in November.
GeneWatch UK’s new report “GM microbes and the microbiome” discusses the implications of the proposals for the human microbiome. This builds on their earlier report about GM microbes and the environment.
The new report finds:
* The human microbiome is a complex system in which many species of bacteria and other micro-organisms interact with each other, their environment, and their human host. It plays an important role in human health which is not fully understood.
* GM micro-organisms (GMMs) pose risks because they are living organisms, which evolve rapidly and interact with other organisms and the wider environment once they are released, including with the human microbiome.
* The EU’s proposed new ‘expedited’ (fast-track) procedure, intended to speed up the approval of some GMMs for open release into the environment, is completely inadequate to protect human health and the microbiome.
The proposed fast-track procedure also restricts the required provision of critical information needed for risk assessment and risk management. This undermines the ability of EU member states to fulfil their legal obligations to protect human health and the environment.
Proposals to give extensive powers to the European Commission to change the rules further without full legislative scrutiny increase the risks and transfer powers in a manner which is democratically unaccountable.
The report concludes that in order to protect human health and the environment, the proposals should be abandoned and GMMs should remain in contained use, with no open releases into the environment.
Source: GeneWatch UK
