Well, whad'ya know. Contrary to popular belief, GMOs aren't banned in 60 counties.

[progressoid]

Ran across this on a science blog.

Q: how many countries ban GMOs?

A: Cathy Enright, former executive director of the Council for Biotechnology Information, has provided a response to a similar question. Below is a previously posted response that addresses the topics your question raises.

“I’m aware of only one country, Kenya, with a ban in place on GMO food imports. The decision came about in November 2012, apparently during a cabinet meeting, that circumvented the existing Kenyan Biosafety Act and the National Biosafety Authority, the regulatory agency established to regulate the use of GMOs.

“Every other country that has a regulatory system in place for GMOs allows GMOs to be imported for food and animal feed, including the European Union (EU), which has a thorough and comprehensive regulatory system for the assessment and approval of GMOs (EU law).

EFSA’s FAQ on genetically modified organisms is available here.
EFSA director statement on GMO Food.



“In fact, the EU’s safety assessment process for GMOs is largely similar to that of other countries around the world — Japan, China, Brazil, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States and many, many others. Each has determined that GMOs are substantially equivalent to their non-GMO counterparts.


“I think people may incorrectly perceive that the EU has a ban on GMOs for food and animal feed because of polarized public opinion and extended delays in the EU approval process, particularly the final step — a political decision-making process in which the member states vote on the European Food Safety Authority (ESFA) scientific opinion. By mid-2011, 39 GM products were approved for food and feed use in the EU, with 72 approvals pending due to delays in the regulatory process.


“Despite the GMO controversy in the EU, it imports 72 percent (2011) of the protein-rich feed needed to support its livestock industry from Brazil, Argentina and the United States, the vast majority of which is GMO.

More at: https://gmoanswers.com/ask/how-many-countries-ban-gmos

[Wilms]

1. Ran across this on Wiki.

Don't know what the "60" number is about. But the article you posted seems to not cover what's on Wiki.

Smaller amounts were produced in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Portugal, Romania and Poland.[8] France and Germany are the major opponents of genetically modified food in Europe, although Germany has approved Amflora a potato modified with higher levels of starch for industrial purposes.[9] In addition to France and Germany, other European countries that placed bans on the cultivation and sale of GMOs include Austria, Hungary, Greece, and Luxembourg.[10] Poland has also tried to institute a ban, with backlash from the European Commission.[11] Bulgaria effectively banned cultivation of genetically modified organisms on 18 March 2010.[12]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_of_genetically_modified_organisms_in_the_European_Union#Adoption_of_GMO_crops

[zalinda]

2. There seems to be a mix up

of what GMO is and means. GMO (to my mind) is a classification where gene splicing is used to import a quality into an organism that would not be able to be introduced by hybridization.

The Amflora potato would more be considered as a hybrid, not a GMO, although it's genes may have been altered.

It is a sticky situation and there should be a standardization of all these terms.

Z

[progressoid]

3. Seem to remember that number being thrown about on DU.

[Wilms]

4. In other words...

...you seem to remember that number being thrown about on DU.

OK.

[HuckleB]

5. Well...

BUT, THE REST OF THE WORLD BANS GMOS; RIGHT?
http://www.thefarmersdaughterusa.com/2014/04/but-rest-of-world-bans-gmos-right.html

no, the EU does not ban GMOs
http://www.themindrestrained.org/columns/gmo/dear-american-anti-gmo-activists-no-the-eu-does-not-ban-gmos-they-love-importing-them/

With G.M.O. Policies, Europe Turns Against Science
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/opinion/sunday/with-gmo-policies-europe-turns-against-science.html?_r=0

[Wilms]

6. Pretty clear that there's a ban on growing GMOs in a lot of places.

If someones statement may need some clarification, the adult thing to do is provide it. Scoundrels, however, may use it for a straw man argument.

But scoundrels are what they are.


Speaking of scoundrels, here's a bit about the author (who referred to a number of European countries as a "Coalition of the Ignorant&quot of that NYT opinion piece you linked.

http://www.alternet.org/food/uncovering-real-story-behind-mark-lynas-conversion-climate-change-journalist-cheerleader

Huck, what's so great about GMO food? Is it that big a deal? That's before we address what scoundrels the likes of Monsanto are.

[HuckleB]

7. "Ban" is not the same as saying that growing hasn't yet been approved.

Alternet is not a good source for science stories. Not even close. Mark Lynas is an ethical advocate. The hit piece you posted is completely FOS. It's time to realize that the anti-GMO movement is unethical, ignorant, and downright despicable. If you're going to bash Lynas, then you've chosen the wrong side of science, history, the environment, and ethics. The reality is that the anti-GMO movement can't win in actual science-based discussion, so it resorts to lame attempts at personal attacks, utilizing some very ugly slight of hand "connections" as if that changes the reality. It's ugly to the core. If you support it, then you have no business in this group.

[Wilms]

8. Ban means ban according to the wiki page.

Please read my post above. It says, "banned". Did they get it wrong?

[HuckleB]

9. Wiki?

[Wilms]

10. Your killing me, Huck.

You wanna be so scientificy, but refuse to play by the rules. Here are the cites. You don't have to like them. I'm not going to act like they don't exist.

Berlin yesterday (14 April) joined France, Greece, Hungary and other EU countries opposed to GM crop cultivation by ordering a ban on Monsanto’s MON 810 maize, despite European rulings that the biotech grain is safe.
http://www.euractiv.com/section/science-policymaking/news/germany-joins-ranks-of-anti-gmo-countries/

EU lawyers take action against Poland over GMO ban
http://uk.reuters.com/article/environment-eu-poland-gmo-dc-idUKL3191435020080131

Bulgaria parliament bans GMO crops to soothe fears
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-gmo-idUSTRE62H3EJ20100318

[HuckleB]

11. That's quite a few less places than claimed otherwise.

And all of that political BS is very recent, oh and none of those places ban the importation of the stuff. Whoops.

It's time to wake up. You've been conned, and your condescension doesn't change that. Honesty matters, and the anti-GMO movement is the absolute perfect example of dishonest scumbags.

[Wilms]

12. I don't think a single thing I asserted or posted to support it is in dispute.

Now, our opinions differ.

[HuckleB]

13. Of course you don't.