[Duurzaamlijst] fw: 8-Misc: Advanta will pay compensation for GE-contaminated canola

[j.m.a.regter@chello.nl]

> ** Original Subject: 8-Misc: Advanta will pay compensation for GE-contaminated canola
> ** Original Sender: GENETNL <genetnl@xs4all.be>
> ** Original Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 17:34:27 +0200

> ** Original Message follows... 

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TITLE:  A) Advanta France to compensate farmers for GM mishap
        B) UK farmers welcome EU decision on GM rapeseed
SOURCE: A) Reuters, by Joelle Diedrich
        B) Reuters, by Christopher Lyddon 
DATE:   both June 12, 2000

-------------------- archive: http://www.gene.ch/ --------------------


A) Advanta France to compensate farmers for GM mishap

FRANCE : June 12, 2000

PARIS - The French branch of seed company Advanta said it would 
compensate French farmers forced to destroy crops grown from rapeseed 
that was tainted with genetically modified (GM) material. Advanta, 
part of a 50-50 venture between Anglo-Swedish group AstraZeneca Plc 
and Dutch cooperative Cosun, also sold the seed, imported from 
Canada, to farmers in Britain, Germany, Sweden and Luxembourg. France 
ordered farmers last month to destroy the crops.

"In order to protect the revenue of farmers, Advanta has decided to 
pay for the loss of the crop and the reimbursement of the cost of 
destroying the crops," Advanta France said in a statement. The 
company did not place a monetary value on the compensation deal, but 
noted it was under no legal obligation toward the farmers since it 
had not broken any existing laws. It said its decision, coming on the 
heels of a similar move to compensate British farmers, was purely 
commercial. A spokesman for Advanta UK said last week that the 
company would not discriminate against farmers in other affected 
countries.

Oilseeds producer association FOP last week estimated losses in 
France at between 2.8 million French francs and 4.2 million francs, 
including the loss of EU farm subsidies. Advanta's announcement meant 
French farmers were now assured of receiving full compensation for 
the destruction of their crops as a result of the debacle. The EU 
earlier on Friday said farmers who unknowingly planted the GM-
contaminated seed would receive their usual EU subsidies even if the 
crops had been removed from the ground. According to EU rules, the 
plants should have been left in the ground until flowering, or until 
June 30, for the usual area payment to be made.


INDUSTRY WANTS RULES ON GMO SEEDS

Advanta repeated its opposition to destroying the crops, saying the 
rapeseed could have been used to produce biomass fuel. But it said it 
respected the decision and was cooperating with its clients for a 
speedy elimination of the crops. Advanta also repeated calls for 
clearer EU regulation of GM content in seeds in the EU, where the 
material is highly controversial. "... The industry as a whole agrees 
that it is currently impossible to guarantee the 100 percent purity 
of seeds and has already made proposals to authorities to elaborate a 
regulatory response to this question," it said.

EU rules currently oblige food producers to label their products as 
containing GMOs if they cannot guarantee each of the ingredients 
contains less than 1 percent of GM material. But the threshold does 
not apply to seed. The European Seed Association has sent a letter to 
EU governments calling for an industry standard for crop seed, 
allowing a small amount of GM material.
$1 = 6.83 French francs; 1 acre = 0.247 hectares

                              *****


B) UK farmers welcome EU decision on GM rapeseed

LONDON - British farmers welcomed an EU decision that allows them to 
destroy rapeseed crops affected by genetically modified (GM) material 
without losing out on subsidy payments. "The NFU (National Farmers 
Union) have been pressing extremely hard for this decision...and we 
are very pleased," Rad Thomas, Chairman of the NFU's Oil, Protein and 
Fibres committee, said in a statement. The move was agreed by the 
European Union grains management committee. Farmers can destroy the 
crop without losing the right to arable area payments. Normally they 
would have had to grow the crop until it flowered or until June 30 to 
get the payments, the ministry of agriculture said.

The decision removed some of the uncertainty facing farmers over GM-
affected crops, Thomas said. The union would continue to work for 
compensation from Advanta, the seed company at the centre of the mix-
up. Nearly 500 British farmers planted rapeseed mixed with GM 
material. The seed was sold by Advanta Seeds UK, a joint venture 
between Anglo-Swedish group AstraZeneca Plc and Dutch co-operative 
Cosun.





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>** --------- End Original Message ----------- **

> 

abc miljeugroep amsterdam
gerard w.schut

abcadam@theglobe.com



jose'

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