The challenges of the 21^st century are vast and include challenges for food and non-food sectors, ecology and land.  Agriculture will have to produce more, it must contribute to the fight against greenhouse gases, and it will have to produce better quality.  Agriculture has the ability to do so, provided that there is access to progress, and in particular to the advances with new technologies offering prospects for top economic and ecological performance levels.

New technologies applied to plant improvement, i.e. plant biotechnologies, will provide a response to the challenges of farming to produce food through sustainable and environmentally friendly agriculture.  The use of tools available through plant biotechnology, including GMOs, will help explore biodiversity and lead to the development of plant varieties that perform better, with guarantees of security of food supply, quality and safety of produce and products, plus the development of plant chemistry, the preservation of natural resources and protection of the environment.
 
GMOs (which were developed in Europe, although the first crops were grown in the United States) have now been adopted across the world as they can provide concrete solutions to needs for the sustainable development of populations.  In France, GMOs are the centre of a controversy that could undermine the development capacity of our agriculture, our farming and food industry and, ultimately, of our economy.  Legitimate questions raised by citizens and the caution of scientists have been instrumentalised by fear mongers who have turned GMOs into the symbolic spearhead of an ideological struggle.  Yet, year after year, the facts are reported endorsing the actions of people who have trusted innovation as a means of finding the best solutions.
 
It is for urgent economic and ecological reasons that we have made a solemn appeal to the President of the Republic.  The future of farming and of the food industry in our country cannot be based on retrograde, inward-looking values.
 
GMOs
We are totally opposed to a moratorium.   There is no gap in the legislation as it stands.  On March 19 this year, France passed decrees and orders transposing European directive 2001/18/EC, modifying directive 90/220/EEC which had already been transposed with legislation passed on July 13, 1992.
 
We maintain our right to continue growing these crops in 2008.  In 2007, farmers growing GM varieties of maize over more than 20 000 hectares to control the main maize pests (corn borer and stem borer) are doing so quite legally.  There can be no reason for them to be denied this innovation in years to come.
 
We are in favour of the proposal for legislation on GMOs to be submitted to Parliament for review as soon as possible.  This means establishing a framework for ambitious development of research and commercial crops, while providing all relevant guarantees.  We consider that such legislation must be seen as an extension of the draft legislation passed by the Senate in 2006.  This provides a solid base to be used to perfect current regulations and includes the establishment of a senior authority [Haute Autorité] which could be modelled on the proposal made by the Senate for a senior committee on biotechnology [Haut Conseil des Biotechnologies].
 
Coexistence of crops is part of our routine practice and covers the different maize sectors.  Specific measures for the coexistence of GM and non-GM maize crops have been implemented on the basis of reputable experimental research conducted in France, Spain, Germany and Switzerland, showing that a distance of 25 metres between fields of Bt and conventional maize is sufficient to comply with the threshold for adventitious GM presence in conventional crops.  These measures efficiently met requirements in 2006 and will be going even further in 2007 as the distances have been doubled in response to a request from the government.
 
We demand compliance with the EU threshold of 0.9% for the adventitious presence of GMOs, as stipulated in directive 2001/18/EC and set in regulation 1829/2003/EC.  There is no valid reason for changing this threshold;  the European Council of Ministers has just confirmed the scope of this threshold for both conventional and organic farming.  We also demand that a threshold be set for adventitious presence in conventional seed.
 
We refute allegations on environmental and health risks from insect-resistant maize crops.  Assessments made prior to approving varieties for farming showed that Bt maize was quite harmless, without effects on health or the environment.  Responding to the so-called “studies” alleging risks involved in growing and consuming Mon810 Bt maize, all scientific advice requested by public authorities (Committee on biomolecular engineering, the French food health and safety agency – AFSSA, and the European Food Safety Authority) has confirmed the validity of the original assessments.  It should also be noted that pollen from maize varieties with a Mon810 trait are not toxic to bees, either adult or larval, and that bees are not involved in pollinating maize which is a wind-pollinated plant.
 
Field-crop producers wish to continue to supply healthy produce with both quality and quantity for their fellow citizens.  To do so they wish to have access to plant biotechnologies offering solutions for the future.
 
Contact :  Pascal Hurbault – 01 44 31 16 25
               Béatrice Guenebeaud- O6 84 51 00 96