Biosafety patrol success in Greece

Following the arrival of our ‘Biosafety Patrol’ from the Esperanza a whole Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) shipment was seized until the necessary inspections are carried out in Kalamaki, Korinthieas, Greece. We finished our action on Saturday evening after the Isthmia Harbour Master publicly committed itself to ensuring that the GE shipment from the `Flag Tom` will remain sealed in customs warehouses until the necessary inspections are completed.

Our activists boarded the bulk carrier 'Flag Tom' carrying some 40,000 thousands tons of genetically engineered (GE) soya and 14,000 tons of maize from Argentina to demand that Greek authorities inspect the cargo for illegal GE imports and to highlight the continuing contamination of the Greek food supply by unidentified GE imports.

They stopped the offloading of the GMO shipment for more than eight hours and demanded that the Korinth attorney intervene to ensure that the necessary inspections will be carried out to determine its nature before the shipment is distributed.

At the same time we asked for a commitment from the Minister of Agriculture to ensure that all products whether food or animal feed derived from this shipment would be properly labelled as is dictated by the new legislation. Unfortunately the Ministry of Agriculture has been completely absent and has so far remained silent.

Myrto Pispini our campaigner in Greece said: “We will keep on with our campaign to ensure that GMOs will not end up in our plate. Labelling of GMO food and animal feed is the necessary tool for their rejection. The Ministry of Agriculture must start with the necessary mechanisms to implement the new EU legislation. Consumers and the majority of food companies demand that GMO products are removed from the food chain. The lack of inspections is what allows GMOs to be dumped into food and animal feed. The Ministry of Agriculture must stop being absent, the least they must do is to enforce the legislation and properly inform the consumers. The statements that the Ministry of Agriculture has previously made against GMOs need to be accompanied by action.”

Greece currently imports about 500,000 tons of soya annually from the U.S., Argentina and Brazil, an estimated 60 percent of which is GE or GE contaminated.

Earlier this week, in the North of Greece, conventional non-GE maize seeds were found to be GE contaminated in an area of more than 100 hectares in the region of Drama. We have condemned the Agriculture Ministry for conducting ineffective checks and asked for stricter, timely controls and liability regulations. The Ministry ordered the destruction of the identified contaminated maize field.

Find Out More:

- Check out our animation GE Soya Cycle Exposed

-Read our in-depth document about Soya

- Get involved in our Trolley Watch: Click here to see how you can help.

- Check out what is happening in your country

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