Hungarians not hungry for GE corn
Today our activists from the Hungarian office protested in front of the Ministry of Agriculture against the introduction of GE corn in Hungary. With the help of a six-meter high inflatable husk of corn they underlined the potential threat that the introduction of GMOs could pose to local agriculture following the country's accession into the EU.
Currently the decision as to whether to introduce GE corn is in the hands of the government, which will either bow to the pressure of multinationals, or protect the competitiveness of Hungarian corn - and according to European legislation - ask for a moratorium. Austria, France, Greece, Luxembourg and Germany already have national bans in place for specific GMO's.
"If the government automatically accepts the EU approvals, then it threatens the health and environment of Hungarian people and hardens the situation of Hungarian farmers. Releasing the GMOs into the environment would happen without adequate assessment of its effects to the environment and to people's health," said Noémi Nemes our Hungarian campaigner.
During the demonstration, Greenpeace activists 'protected' a sack of GE-free Hungarian against 'Monsanto's men'. Following the activities Bertalan Székely, the Head of the Agricultural Department came and spoke to our activists who presented him with the same sack of GE free corn.
"Although the Mr Székely listened to our demand for a moratorium to be put in place as some of our Western neighbours have done, we are disappointed that he didn't give us a clear yes or no answer," added Noemi Nemes.
