Europe's Opposition to Crop Biotechnology

There is general feeling that the Europe has closed its doors on agricultural crop biotechnology. This is not true. Genetic engineering, especially in the agricultural field is very much alive in Europe. Dr. C Kameswara Rao, a biotechnology scientist from India, in his blog, FBAE Blog, writes that despite the ongoing campaign against genetically modified foods by anti-biotech activists, the European Union (EU) has approved about 190 genetically modified crops for field testing.

Another pointer to the changing attitude about genetically modified foods in Europe, according to Dr. Rao, is the fact that the EU agreed to lift a moratorium it had slapped on biotechnology foods in 1998.

Dr. Rao also cites a survey conducted last year which found that most Europeans agreed that biotechnology has the potential to improve people’s lives. The survey, Eurobarometer 2005, also found that Europeans supported biopharming, the use of genetically engineered plants in the production of pharmaceuticals. To get more details about this study, go to Dr. Rao’s Blog at http://www.fbaeblog.org.