NOTE: The former Chair of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Prof Patrick Wall, made some surprising comments about EFSA's GM risk assessment process, during this video interview.

He says GM foods have no benefits for consumers, agrees on the need for long-term health risk assessments, and likens members of EFSA's GMO panel to blase motorbike racers with a bias against admitting the dangers of their technology!

He says the patenting issue means there would be no benefit for poor farmers, and that there are good reasons to consider the economic benefits of keeping Ireland and other small countries GM-free. He also says that coexistence is not a practical possibility in small countries.

He also says EFSA must comply with the mandate given to it by the Commission, and that critics should lobby the Commission to change the mandate if they are not satisfied with current risk assessment protocols.

The video + links to the transcript etc. avaiulable here: http://www.gmfreeireland.org/efsa
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EU CITIZENS SHOULD NOT BE FORCE-FED GM FOOD - Former Chair, European Food Safety Authority
GM-free Ireland, 4 December 2008

DUBLIN, IRELAND -- In a video interview released on YouTube yesterday, the former Chairman of the European Food Safety Authority, Prof Patrick Wall, says people have lost confidence in EFSA's ability to assess the risks of GM food.

"Do we want corporate giants to own the food chain? GM food has no benefits for consumers... EFSA is a consumer protection agency; it is not meant to rubberstamp biotech dossiers... We cannot force-feed European citizens products that they don't want. We live in a democracy. People have a right to have objections... If people don't want (GM) technology they have a right not to have it."

Prof Wall's remarks came ahead of today's meeting of the EU Council of Environment Ministers, whose agenda includes reform of EFSA's GMO risk assessment process with credible research and consideration of new scientific evidence of the heath and environmental dangers of GM animal feed and food.

See the press release at http://www.gmfreeireland.org/press/GMFI44.pdf

Watch the video: http://www.gmfreeireland.org/efsa

Dowload the transcript: http://www.gmfreeireland.org/efsa/GMFI-PatrickWall-interview.pdf