L’Ecosse veut tirer parti des nouvelles directives de l’UE, selon lesquelles les différents pays adhérents ont la possibilité de refuser la culture des plantes OGM. Le Ministère de l’environnement justifie ce rejet en invoquant la notoriété du paysage naturel de l’Ecosse à l’échelle mondiale. Le fait d’interdire les plantes génétiquement modifiées vise à maintenir la protection de cet état de propreté et de verdure. Le gouvernement est en outre convaincu qu’il n’existe pas de réelle demande à l’égard de tels produits. Le gouvernement conservateur britannique n’est pas du même avis: il est favorable à la culture des plantes génétiquement modifiées. (Stern / The Guardian, 11.8.15)
a) Quelle: Stern, 11.8.2015
http://www.stern.de/wirtschaft/news/schottland--kein-genmais-6377846.html
Schottland sagt "Nein" zu Genmais und Co
Nicht bei uns – so lautet die klare Ansage aus Schottland zu genetisch modifizierten Nutzpflanzen. Zum einen sei es zweifelhaft, dass schottische Konsumenten Gen-Produkte kaufen würden. Außerdem wolle man die eigene Natur schützen und als "saubere und grüne Marke" erhalten. Rund 15 Millionen Besucher reisen jedes Jahr in den hohen Norden Großbritanniens, eine wichtige Einnahmequelle für Schottland.
Naturschutz hat Vorrang
Richard Lochhead, der schottische Minister für Umwelt, Nahrung und Landwirtschaft, wolle sich laut der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters die neuen EU-Richtlinien zunutze machen, nach der einzelne Länder Genpflanzen ablehnen können. In seiner Begründung heißt es: "Schottland ist weltweit bekannt für die wunderschöne Naturlandschaft – genetisch modifizierte Pflanzen zu verbieten, wird unseren sauberen, grünen Status weiter schützen."
Während genetisch modifizierte Pflanzen in den USA und Asien keine Seltenheit sind, ist Europa gespalten. Allen voran der amerikanische Agrarkonzern Monsanto wird kritisch beäugt. Frankreich hat den Genmais MON810 bereits letztes Jahr verboten. Die Weltgesundheitsorganisation veröffentlichte vor kurzem, dass das von Monsanto hergestellte Pestizid Glyphosat vermutlich krebserregend ist. Sogar im kleinen rührt sich Protest: Ein Imker bekam 6000 Euro Schadenersatz dafür, dass sein Honig durch Gentechnik verunreinigt wurde, berichtet die Tageszeitung "taz".
Keine Nachfrage nach Gen-veränderten Produkten
Auch in Schottland sorgt man sich darum, ob die Gen-veränderten Pflanzen wirklich ungefährlich sind. Außerdem, da ist Lochhead sich sicher, würden die Produkte im Regal bleiben: "Es gibt keine Hinweise für eine wirkliche Nachfrage nach Gen-Produkten bei schottischen Konsumenten und ich bin besorgt, dass wir die Zukunft unserer 14 Milliarden Pfund (knapp 20 Milliarden Euro) schweren Nahrungsmittel-Industrie aufs Spiel setzen würden."
Er habe die britische Regierung bereits über diese Entscheidung informiert. Schottland bekommt ein hohes Maß an Entscheidungsfreiheit aus London.
b) Quelle: The Guradian, 9.8.2015
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/09/scotland-to-issue-formal-ban-on-genetically-modified-crops
Scotland to issue formal ban on genetically modified crops
Ministers aim to use recent EU powers to opt out of a regime that is expected to see greater commercial use of GM crops around Europe
Scottish ministers are planning to formally ban genetically modified crops from being grown in Scotland, widening a policy divide with the Conservative government in London.
Ministers in Edinburgh are to apply to use recent EU powers that allow devolved administrations to opt out of a more relaxed regime, which is expected to increase commercial use of GM crops around the EU.
The move will reinforce a long-standing moratorium on planting GM crops in Scotland and allow the Scottish National party to further distance itself from the UK government.
Backed by agribusiness, scientific bodies and the National Farmers Union, ministers in London have already signalled that they plan to allow commercial cultivation of GM crops such as maize and oilseed rape in England, despite significant resistance from consumers and environmental groups.
The Scottish government announcement on Sunday did not say whether this new legal power would extend to a ban on scientific and experimental research, but a spokeswoman confirmed that laboratory research on GMOs would continue.
Scottish scientists, including those at the James Hutton Institute and the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, have taken a leading role in GM research. The Scottish government’s former chief scientific officer, Dame Anne Glover, who became the European commission’s chief scientific adviser before the position was abolished, is a keen advocate of GM crops.
The spokeswoman for the Scottish government said: “These changes would not affect research as it is currently carried out in Scotland, where the contained use of GM plants is permitted for scientific purposes, for example in laboratories or sealed glasshouse facilities.’’
Richard Lochhead, Scotland’s environment secretary, said he wanted to uphold the precautionary principle – that the potential risks to other crops and wildlife from GMOs outweighed the likely benefits of the technology – by banning the commercialisation of GM crops.
“There is no evidence of significant demand for GM products by Scottish consumers and I am concerned that allowing GM crops to be grown in Scotland would damage our clean and green brand, thereby gambling with the future of our £14bn food and drink sector,” he said.
“The Scottish government has long-standing concerns about GM crops – concerns that are shared by other European countries and consumers, and which should not be dismissed lightly,” he added. “I firmly believe that GM policy in Scotland should be guided by what’s best for our economy and our own agricultural sector rather than the priorities of others.”
His announcement was applauded by environment campaigners. Richard Dixon, director of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “The Scottish government has been making anti-GM noises for some time, but the new Tory government has been trying to take us in the direction of GM being used in the UK, so it is very good news that Scottish ministers are taking that stance.
“If you are a whisky producer or breeding high-quality beef, you ought to be worried if you don’t want GM but it is going to come to a field near you and you were worried that there was going to be some contamination. It is certainly in Scotland’s interests to keep GM out of Scotland.”
The new measure angered NFU Scotland, which described the decision as naive and taken without an adequate debate. Scott Walker, chief executive of NFU Scotland, said: “Other countries are embracing biotechnology where appropriate and we should be open to doing the same here in Scotland.
“Decisions should be taken on the individual merits of each variety, based on science and determined by whether the variety will deliver overall benefit. These crops could have a role in shaping sustainable agriculture at some point and at the same time protecting the environment which we all cherish in Scotland.”
Murdo Fraser, for the Scottish Conservatives, said there was no great pressure for commercial use of GMOs in Scotland but that the weight of scientific opinion was in favour of the technology.
“I think this decision puts superstition before science,’’ he said. “There’s a very strong scientific consensus that GM foods could be hugely beneficial, increasing the volume of food for the world’s population.
