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ASA considers EU court ruling on member state GMO bans a victory

The European Court of Justice has ruled EU member state governments cannot ban the cultivation of genetically engineered crops without scientific evidence of risk to human health.

The decision reverses the “precautionary principle” which has been the EU’s longstanding default argument to support unverified safety concerns about the importation or cultivation of biotech crops.

American Soybean Association president and Illinois farmer Ron Moore says this is good news for US agriculture.  “Over 95 percent of the soybeans that are raised in the United States have some form of biotechnology trait,” he says.  “It’s an opportunity to finally get some sound-science and common sense behind the abilty for US agriculture to export over to the European Union.”

He tells Brownfield the ruling helps supports the argument that the EU’s ban on biotechnology has not been science-based.  “It’s another way we can say look – this is not harmful – it’s not a safety issue,” he says.  “If it’s not a safety issue than it’s a trade barrier and we can make the case that it’s not WTO compliant.”

Moore says the ASA hopes to see similar science-based stances on the use of biotechnology in Europe in the future.

AUDIO: Ron Moore, American Soybean Association