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L’A
TLAS
DU
M
ONDE
DIPLOMATIQUE
I
33
though this may change in the future
with specially engineered plants capa-
ble of trapping pollution or surviving
droughts. But above all it is an uphill
struggle forming an opinion amidst
the conflicting views offered by experts,
regardless of whether debate focuses
on the consequences of GM crops
for the environment, public health or
the economy. As with so many issues
related to living organisms, it is hard
to distinguish between rational and
emotional responses.
Ecologists, seed merchants and
even scientists are in complete disa-
greement about the environmental
impact of GM organisms. Their dis-
semination by pollen is a potential risk
for biodiversity. Observations in the
United Kingdom and Germany have
confirmed the risk of a “bio-invasion”.
InMexico, where humans first cultiva-
ted maize, the discovery that foreign
genes introduced by US imports
had contaminated traditional strains
prompted a public outcry. Rather than
attempting to explain what is going
on, GM advocates maintain that such
crops reduce the need for fertilisers
and pesticides, limit soil erosion and
enable simpler farming techniques.
There is still no certainty about the
long-term impact of GMorganisms on
public health, no systematic studies
having been carried out, even in the
USwhere consumers have been eating
GM foods for years. Some experiments
– open to doubt – suggest that chan-
ges have been detected in the blood
and kidneys of laboratory rats. On the
other hand some people claim that
GM crops reduce mycotoxin (a form
of fungus) contamination, which in
turn lowers the risk of cancer.
Even the economic benefits are
open to dispute. In South Africa the
spread of insect pests (tarnished plant
bugs) wiped out any benefit some
small producers might have derived
from investing expensive GM seeds.
In other cases (fruit rot, vine growth
malformation) a clear improvement in
yields has been observed. Either way,
GM crops seem certain to increase
poor countries’ dependence on a few
giant firms such asMonsanto or Bayer,
long before they end the uneven distri-
bution of food across the planet.
The precautions taken in Europe
– special labelling, refusal by about 50
regions to authorise GM crops – and
the destruction of trial crops by French
environmental activists, are holding
back research into their impact on
biodiversity without stopping imports
of genetically modified seeds or pro-
ducts. There is a genuine risk that GM
organisms become so widespread that
they pass the point of no return, before
governments have taken even themost
elementary precautions, equivalent to
the tests preceding the public launch
of new drugs.
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Les cinq plus gros producteurs d’OGM
>
Inf’OGM :
www.infogm.org>
GeneWatch :
www.genewatch.org>
Organic Consumers :
www.organicconsumers.org>
Comité de recherche et d’information
indépendantes sur le génie génétique (CRRI-
GEN) :
www.crii-gen.org>
Site interministériel sur les OGM :
www.
ogm.gouv.frSur la Toile