European Commission admits to GM safety fears1 April 2006
The European Commission (EC) has been approving GM foods and crops - despite having serious doubts over their health and environmental impacts.
Their own documents - based on scientific arguments that they commissioned - argue that there are "large areas of uncertainty" and that "some issues have not yet been studied at all".
These documents were not made available to the public. But Friends of the Earth have published them following a Freedom of Information request.
They formed the basis of the European Communities' scientific arguments in the recent international GM trade dispute.
At the same time as the papers were written the EC broke Europe's six year moratorium on new GM foods - and made member states vote on proposals that would have forced them to lift their national GM bans.
They have also commercialised 31 varieties of GM maize since September 2004. In all cases the EC informed member states and the public that the GM foods or crops were "completely safe'.
These new documents show a different picture - one of uncertainties, lack of data and subjective judgements that have to be made about the safety GM crops and food.
Read our report
Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace have produced a comprehensive report (PDF format - 148K) on the new revelations.
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