Presentation and comments on EU legislation related to food industries-environment interactions: sustainable development, and protection of nature and biodiversity - genetically modified organisms

Abstract

The European Union (EU) legislation regarding sustainable development moves along two distinct lines: the impact of industries (food industries included) on the environment (release of gases and green house effect and the effect of cultivating genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on the environment. EU voted three communications [COM(2002)524, COM(2003)301, COM(2004)38] in an attempt to set an action plan based on technologies to manage pollution, by promoting less polluting and less resource-intensive products and services and ways to manage resources more efficiently. As such environment-friendly technologies pervade practically all economic activities and sectors it is anticipated that they will reduce effectively energy and resource consumption thereby creating fewer emissions and less waste. As regards the cultivation and/or importing of GMOs, EU legislation was based on two directives (E.U. 90/219/EEC, E.U. 2001/18/EC) and four regulations [Regulation (EC) No. 258/97, Regulation (EC) No. 1830/2003, Regulation (EC) No. 1830/2003 and Regulation (EC) No. 1946/2003]. The directives aimed at adopting measures for limited use of GM micro-organisms, making the procedure for granting consent to the deliberate release and placing on the market of GMOs more efficient and more transparent, making GMO labelling compulsory and thereby enhancing GMOs traceability along the entire food chain.