The Codex Alimentarius and GMOs

Organiser:  Bruno Heinzer, Greenpeace, Switzerland

Speakers:
Helen Holder (Friends of the Earth), Belgium
Bruno Heinzer (Greenpeace), Switzerland
Michael Hanson (Consumers International), USA
Philip Bereano (Washington Biotechnology Action Council), USA

Outline:
This workshop is about the different and contradictionary approaches to risk assessment, approval, labelling, thresholds and phytosanitary measures of GMO's within the the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius and the CBD Biosafety Protocol  and their relation to the WTO and its SPS and TBT agreement. We will look at the impact of these international agreements on governments measures related to GMO's, and how NGO's/regions and other stakeholders can participate in the negotiation process and how they can use the outcome of these UN bodies for their political or campaign work against the uncontrolled spread of GMO's into the environment and into our daily food.

Two basic concepts play an important role in both, the Biosafety Protocol and the Codex Alimentarius:

The "precautionary principle" which is supporting a rather critical approach of GMO's and
 the concept of “substantial equivalence”, which is used by the promoters of GMO's (and the most competent authorities responsible for the risk assessment of GM plants and GM foods) even though there is scientific agreement that this is not an appropriate way of handling the problem of GMOs.
While the WTO refers to the Codex as reference to all food related issues it does not consider the Biosafety Protocol. GMO industry and GMO exporting countries, such as the USA, Canada and Argentina, who are not members of the Biosafety Protocol intend to override its provisions by means of the WTO.
An introduction to the history and present state of that powerplay will be followed by reports on the present negotiations within the Codex …..
and an assessment of the WTO case on GMOs between the US and the EU and an analysis of its impacts on the global market.

 Minutes of the Workshop

Your contribution on this subject

» Go to the forum of this workshop

Last Contributions

Background Papers and further reading

All original Codex documents/reports can be found on:  www.codexalimentarius.net

• Principles for traceability/ product tracing as a tool within a food inspection and certification system CAC/GL 60-2006
• Guidelines for the conduct of food safety assessment of foods derived from recombinant -DNA plants, CAC/GL 45-2003
• Pinciples for the risk analysis of foods derived from modern biotechnology, CAC/GL 44-2003
  
• Guideline for the conduct of food safety assessment of food produced using recombinant -DNA microorganisms, CAC/GL 46-2003

 Summary of the Codex Guidelines on GM foods (2003 approved by Codex Alimentarius Commission) with GP comments

 Article from Alexander Haslberger regarding the Codex Guidelines published in Nature Biotechnology July 2003

 "The Codex Alimentarius and environmental issues: Maneuvring between the WTO and the UN System" and  "Environment-Related Food Standards", 2 reports of a research of Urs P. Thomas, PhD, University of Geneva

 FAO/WHO Evaluation of the Codex Alimentarius

 Statement of EU commission on WTO complaint and  Letter of US agro-industry to US government regarding Codex and WTO

 The precautionary principle (Greenpeace briefing paper)

 Beyond substantial equivalence, Nature article by Erik Millstone et al. (1999)

 Problems of the Japanese Standards for the Risk Assessment of GMOs, A preliminary study by the Codex Study Group, Tokyo, 2008