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2-Plants: Greece goes to destroy GE-contaninated cotton fields
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- Subject: 2-Plants: Greece goes to destroy GE-contaninated cotton fields
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- Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 16:58:28 +0200
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TITLE: Greece to further test, destroy any GM cotton crop
SOURCE: Reuters, by Dina Kyriakidou
DATE: July 4, 2000
-------------------- archive: http://www.gene.ch/ --------------------
Greece to further test, destroy any GM cotton crops
ATHENS - Greece said yesterday it would destroy genetically modified
cotton crops and compensate farmers after conducting additional
testing to determine the extent of their spread. The Agriculture
Ministry said initial tests showed accidental mixing of GM seeds in
cotton planted this year, contrary to a European Union ban on gene-
altered cotton.
"After the results of more detailed tests...any cotton found to be
genetically engineered will be uprooted," Agriculture Minister George
Anomeritis told a news conference. "The farmers will be completely
compensated." The minister said 3,100 samples were tested from 14,000
tonnes of seeds, of which 10,000 tonnes were planted. Out of 2,518
results in, 69 had been contaminated. "These positive tests will be
sent for quantitative testing, to trace the extent of the
contamination," he said.
The minister would not say how many hectares this could affect but
added that the problem was "extremely limited". But Greenpeace, which
brought the GE cotton issue to light last month, said that this could
mean destroying nearly 20,000 acres of cotton crops. "If 2.74 percent
of tests were positive, then this could mean 2.74 percent of the
400,000 hectares of cotton Greece usually plants annually should be
destroyed," Greenpeace Greece director Stelios Psomas told Reuters.
Envriromentalists strongly oppose gene-altered crops and foods,
fearing they contaminate nature and pose health risks. Greenpeace had
warned that any cotton destruction should be done before the plants
bloom. "Blooming begins in mid-July and that means genetic
pollution," Psomas said. "Now that we have official proof, we demand
immediate destruction (of affected plants) and compensation for
farmers." Anomeritis said he could not say whether the additional
testing would be done before the plants bloom. "I hope (they will be
completed) within 15 days at the latest," Anomeritis said.
The European Union bans any gene-altered cotton. Greece, a major
cotton exporter, receives EU subsidies for an industry that supports
hundreds of thousands of farmers. Greece does not legally allow GM
cotton seed to be imported or used and ministry officials could not
explain how the tested seeds were contaminated. They said seeds could
have been mixed in the fields, during processing or packing.
Anomeritis said the ministry was setting up a special committee on GM
agricultural products to deal with such problems in future.
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