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GMO’s and The New EU Eco Label: How Green are Organic Foods?

Sun, 18 Jul 2010

Since 1 July 2010, the new European bio label has taken shape. The so-called “Euro-Leaf” was designed by a German student – the twelve stars from the European flag are clustered around to form a leaf with a bright green background.

by Roxane Schwandt

All of this was set out in the regulation on organic production and labelling of organic products that came into force last year. The label merely visualises what had been decided previously. To create clarity in the jungle of organic food, with large numbers of legitimate and less serious labels in each member state, the EU set out to enhance clarity and transparency for consumers.

However, unlike most other labels, the “Euro-Leaf” necessitates compliance with special rules. First, products with 95 percent of their ingredients coming out of organic cultivation can use the label. This leaves quite a significant margin for other, less ecological ingredients. Especially, genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) – largely forbidden in the EU – should be analysed more closely in this context. The eco label leaves the possibility for food to contain up to 0.9 percent of genetically modified ingredients, without forcing the producer to make this known to the consumer. Considering that the label is named ecological, this can raise a few eyebrows.

In fact, it just confirms the obvious. It is no secret that the European Commission, for example, would not mind if GMO’s were introduced properly in the EU. Public opinion, however, is very much opposed to genetically manipulated food, and so is the European Parliament.

Why then are GMO’s suddenly allowed as ingredients? To understand this let us look at how organic crops are planted. Fields are not allowed to be treated with pesticides and are thus unprotected against the forces of nature – wind, birds, bees, pollination. They are also exposed to unclean methods of storage, transportation and harvesters that can pollute organic crops with traces of GMO’s. As animal food and animal medication are allowed to contain traces of GMO’s, it becomes almost unavoidable to have them in plants.

Consumers who decide to pay more for organic and ultimately ‘ethical’ food generally trust labels, especially if certified by the EU. It is thus worrying that the “Euro-Leaf” hides a negative side as well. Many national labels do not allow any exception and turn out to be more biological than the new EU label. When it comes to imported food, the situation remains unclear. Non-EU producers can decide whether they use the “Euro-Leaf” or not. Like most high-standard food produced in the European Union, the “Euro-Leaf” risks getting undermined by cheaper non-labelled imports.

Organic cultivation is thus the victim of biotechnology. What is positive, however, is that the EU institutions could agree on an organic label, despite the large margins for GMO’s and other non-organic ingredients. In a country such as Germany, the national labels are going to prevail despite the “Euro-Leaf”. Many German labels, for example, do not allow for any exception on GMO’s. For member states with inferior or non-existent rules on organically produced food the new label is certainly an improvement, but still hides too many uncertainties.  In comparison, the large market for cosmetics is completely uncontrolled. Cosmetics producers still invent their own labels and the consumer is at their mercy. A next step for the EU is to put an order into this jungle of deceptions as well.

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