Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
The next generation of GM crops promises specific health benefits
to consumers. GM crop plants designed to combat dietary deficiencies
in vitamin A and iron should be available within a few years. Other
varieties may lower risk factors for cardiovascular disease and cancer
by increasing the presence of carotenoids, tocopherols, and flavonoids. 24
These advances may diminish the European consumer's concerns and
distrust about GM crops and foods. In addition, Dutch scientists and
plant breeding companies expect that growing knowledge of plant genet-
ics will reduce existing gaps between genotype and phenotype and enable
control over environmental factors such as salt, drought, and wetness.
In their opinion, GM crop breeding techniques have tangible benefits
and such knowledge will also enable more efficient selection procedures,
which will enhance plant breeding for conventional, organic, and GM
types of crops. 25
Ongoing PublicConcerns
In an additional effort to address public concerns, the Commission pub-
lished a White Paper on Food Safety in 2000 stating that food safety pol-
icy should be based on a comprehensive farm to table approach. 26 The
Commission also adopted Regulation 178/2002, 27 which established the
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). EFSA and its GMO panel
composed of independent scientific experts, works closely with the Dutch
and other national authorities. Under the GM crop approval scheme,
the Dutch competent authority conducts the initial safety assessment,
24 H. P. J. M. Noteborn & W. De Wit, Scientific Challenges for Risk Assessment. in:
Biological Resource Management in Agriculture - Challenges and Risks of Geneti-
cally Engineered Organisms 139-141 (OECDDocuments 2004); See also H. A. Kuiper
et al., Safety Aspects of Novel Foods, 35 Food Research International 267-271 (2002).
25 J. Borovitz, et al., Plant Genomics: Third Wave, Annual Review Genomics , 443-477
(2004).
26 Commission White Paper on European Governance, COM (2001) 428 final (July 25,
2001).
27 Commission Regulation 178/2002, 2002 O.J. (L131) 1-24 (EC).
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