Farm-level GM Coexistence Policies in the EU: Context, Concepts and Developments

Abstract

Many EU MS have implemented coexistence policies to govern the cultivation of GM crops on their territory but only one GM crop, the Bt maize event MON810, is currently cultivated in the EU. From a practical point of view, a combination of paper traceability and implementation of isolation distances between GM and non-GM maize are considered as being the most effective way of segregating both types of materials. In general, infringements will however only become apparent after harvesting the crops. Liability issues will then be invoked late in the process restricting or at least limiting flexibility in the marketing of the materials in an appropriate way. Nevertheless, following the general guidelines for coexistence developed by the European Commission, EU Member States are progressively regulating coexistence at the national level. The policies in the EU governing coexistence can be differentiated into ex-ante regulations and ex-post liability rules. This differentiation is useful as the economic implications between the two differ. With regard to maize, studies show that the costs of complying with the given threshold values for GM content at farm level range from zero to 2 per cent of the total growing costs for both conventional and organic production.