Bijdrage mili­eu­com­missie over een bezwaar op grond van artikel 112: verlenging van vergun­ningen en het verlenen van nieuwe vergun­ningen voor producten die geheel of gedeel­telijk bestaan uit, of gepro­du­ceerd zijn met genetisch gemo­di­fi­ceerde maïs, soja en

Anja Hazekamp (PvdD): Thank you.

The Amazon is burning more visibly then ever, and the outrage over the deforestation of these invaluable ecosystems is growing worldwide and yet the Commission authorises more genetically modified maize and soy varieties.

The painful irony of this should be obvious for everybody. The rainforest and Cerrado are being cleared to feed the enormous hunger of the EU’s livestock industry. The maize and soy that is grown on the recently cleared forest grounds over there, are used to produce cheap meat and dairy over here, and these are precisely those varieties that we are objecting to today.

The Commission knows that these maize and soy varieties have been genetically engineered to be resistant to glyphosate and glufosinate - herbicides which are essential enablers of the slash-and-burn type of agriculture which is responsible for the fires in the Amazon.

The Commission knows that we need to save the forests and reduce our meat consumption in order to curb global warming and halt biodiversity loss. The Commission knows that glufosinate - which has been banned for the use in the EU because it is reprotoxic - is endangering the population in the exporting countries and is entering our markets and our plates.

The Commission knows there is no democratic legitimacy in the authorisations of these gmo’s. At least they should know.

So, why don’t you just stop these irresponsible authorisations?

Thank you.