PG Economics and Graham Brookes have written several papers on crop
co-existence - please review the list of related documents listed on
the right-hand side. These papers are the result of three case
studies:
What is co-existence?
Co-existence as an issue relates to ‘the economic consequences of
adventitious presence of material from one crop in another and the
principle that farmers should be able to cultivate freely the agricultural
crops they choose, be it GM crops, conventional or organic crops’ (EU
Commission 2003). The issue is, therefore, not about product/crop safety
(the GM crop having obtained full regulatory approval) but about the
economic impact of the production and marketing of crops which are
considered safe for the consumer and the environment.
Adventitious presence of GM crops in non GM crops becomes an issue where
consumers demand products that do not contain, or are derived from GM
crops. The initial driving force for differentiating currently available
crops into GM and non GM has came from consumers and interest groups who
expressed a desire to avoid support for, or consumption of, GM crops and
their derivatives, based on perceived uncertainties about GM crop impact
on human health and the environment. This has subsequently been recognised
by some in the food and feed supply chains (notably some supermarket
chains, many with interests in organic farming and suppliers of GMO
testing services) as an opportunity to differentiate their products and
services from competitors and hence derive market advantage from the
supply of non GM products. In addition, some food companies have withdrawn
from using GM derived ingredients so as to minimise possible adverse
impact on demand for their branded food products that might have otherwise
arisen, after having been targeted by anti GM pressure groups.
To fully accommodate this perceived demand for product differentiation, it
is important to segregate or identify preserve (IP) either GM or non GM
derived crops and to label these and derived (food) products throughout
the food supply chain. Whilst absolute purity of the segregated product is
striven for, it is a fact of any practical agricultural production system
that accidental impurities can rarely be totally avoided (ie, it is
virtually impossible to ensure absolute purity).
Adventitious presence of one crop with another crop or unwanted material
can arise for a variety of reasons. These include, for example, seed
impurities, cross pollination, volunteers (self sown plants derived from
seed from a previous crop), from seed planting equipment and practices,
harvesting and storage practices on-farm, transport, storage and
processing post farmgate. Recognising this, almost all traded agricultural
commodities accept some degree of adventitious presence of unwanted
material may be found in supplies and hence have thresholds set for the
presence of unwanted material. For example, in most cereals, the maximum
threshold for the presence of unwanted material (eg, plant material,
weeds, dirt, stones, seeds of other crop species) commonly used is 2%,
although in durum wheat, the presence of non durum wheat material is
permitted up to a 5% threshold.
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Co-existence
introduction
Co-existence of GM and
non-GM crops: current experience and key principles Co-existence of GM
and non GM crops: economic and market perspectives - PDF format
Co-existence
of GM and non GM crops: case study of maize grown in Spain - PDF format
Co-existence in
North American agriculture: can GM crops be grown with conventional and
organic crops?
Co-existence
of GM and non GM crops in the UK can occur without problems - PDF format
GM
and non GM arable crops can co-exist in the EU without problems
Genetically Modified Maize - Pollen Movement and Crop Co-existence
EU Commission report on co-existence
EU Paper on GMO's in seeds |
