usual Euro b.....s

[Heather]

So now we have to prove that our honey is non GM content!! Telegraph today.

Beekeepers face being driven out of business by a European court ruling that pollen must be listed as an ingredient of honey.

 

[Brosville]

Excellent! -if it makes people aware of just how much of a contaminant GMOs are, the more likely it is that we insist our governments tell them where they can stuff them!
There is a concerted campaign to make us accept them from the US, not least by our own Caroline Spelman who was a GM lobbyist for 15 years!

 

[enrico]

wouldn't mind seeing the article, could you copy it or is it too long?
E

 

[Brosville]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/beekeeping/8873410/European-court-rules-beekeepers-must-prove-GM-pollen-is-not-an-ingredient-of-honey.html

 

[oliver90owner]

The last line of the article says, quote: Suppliers of honey whose pollen is found to be more than 0.9 per cent GM will have to undergo full safety authorisation and label their honey accordingly.

So that is 0.9% of a typical 2%(?) total in honey (before any stringent filtering).

If the honey processors reduce all pollen in honey to less than 1%, by stringent filtering, that would mean they are exempt from any testing at all?

Sticking in a couple of commas could make it a completely different requirement. Here is the same sentence with a couple of extra commas!

Suppliers of honey, whose pollen is found to be more than 0.9 per cent GM, will have to undergo full safety authorisation and label their honey accordingly.

So Rowse are probably scaremongering, as to their costs, but it would mean they would have to filter all their honey products (baker's honey, as well as retailed products).

RAB

 

[Heather]

I agree Bros but how the hell do we analyse our own product to see whether they have foraged on GMO or do we presume safe as NIMBY's.

And if we have been 'contaminated' can we sue- and who???

 

[Brosville]

ahhh - if it comes from UK hives, and the UK is a country in which no GMOs whatsoever are allowed, it would therefore be impossible to contain GM pollen (even more reason why the recently authorised UK GM trials should be aborted pdq, and the whole frankencrap thing given the boot from these islands and Europe...)

 

[mbc]

My money's on them having to backtrack on this decision pdq or face angry pro-active beekeepers protesting in an unequivocal manner. The European beekeepers seem better at this sort of protest than the Brits

 

[Heather]

Or be like some other Euro countries- just ignore legislation - do your own thing.
Bring on the referendum!

 

[Brosville]

Why should they "backtrack" ?- all that would do its to play into the hands of the likes of Monsanto, who are using every dirty trick in the book to strongarm their pernicious technology into Europe.
I sincerely hope that beekeepers kick up one helluva stink over this - there are many valid arguments against GM crops, not least that it removes the ability to choose NOT to consume the damn stuff.....

The anti-EU brigade should contemplate the horrific alternative should we leave Europe - sitting tighter on the US's lap! - GM would then be widespread, without the option!
Far better that Europe tells the GM frankencrappers where to stuff their pernicious technology - I'm no great fan of "Brusssels" per se, but in this case it may just be doing the right thing

 

[itma]

From the case report it sounds as though the German amateur beekeepers were trying to get the GM maize banned, and the Court said "No, we are banning your honey".

Interesting ...

Case report here -> http://www.reading.ac.uk/foodlaw/news/eu-11115.htm

The Court goes on to hold that, nevertheless, products such as honey and food supplements containing such pollen constitute foodstuffs which contain ingredients produced from GMOs within the meaning of the regulation. In that regard, it finds that the pollen in issue is ‘produced from GMOs’ and that it constitutes an ‘ingredient’ of the honey and pollen-based food supplements. As regards the honey, the Court observes that pollen is not a foreign substance or an impurity, but rather a normal component of honey, with the result that it must indeed be classified as an ‘ingredient’. The pollen in question consequently comes within the scope of the regulation and must be subject to the authorisation scheme provided for thereunder before being placed on the market.

The Court observes that that authorisation scheme for foodstuffs containing ingredients produced from GMOs applies irrespective of whether the pollen is introduced intentionally or adventitiously into the honey.

Lastly, the Court holds that the authorisation obligation exists irrespective of the proportion of genetically modified material contained in the product in question.

 

[Brosville]

There are gazillions to be made by the GM companies if they manage to force it on us - their influence is far and wide, and they do their best to get "their" representatives into the very heart of government and all legislative bodies - (a good example being Caroline "GM lobbyist for 15 years" Spelman)

 

[mbc]

Not sure "pernicious technology" is accurate, the technology itself could have amazingly beneficial results for humankind years down the line. What I would agree with is the marketing of some of the products of gm technology is pernicious.
Using innocent beekeepers as a lever to get shot of big agg gm pedlar's from Europe doesnt sit comfortably with me at all, it would be much better if the ECJ ruled in favour of the beekeeper and penalised the State of Bavaria.
The article doesnt seem to indicate any outcome with regards to the beekeeper only this farcical 0.9% gm pollen rubbish. Anyone know where we could read further into tghis?

 

[mbc]

Thanks itma.

"Lastly, the Court holds that the authorisation obligation exists irrespective of the proportion of genetically modified material contained in the product in question. "

Dont these people realise weather balloons collect pollen from the whole world when up in the stratosphere ? Presumably this means all products exposed to the atmosphere are obliged to go through this authorisation if a single gm pollen grain could have landed on the product.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Expect they will issue some kind of test kit,and honey containing over the permitted level of GM pollen can be either dumped or fine filtered.

 

[itma]

Interesting that it should have taken exactly a month before anyone has really noticed it.
http://www.justis.com/data-coverage/eu-bulletins.aspx?date=20110907

Seems the Bavarian Court was asking the ECJ to clarify the law for them before they decided their case.
The various relevant EU Directives, etc are referenced from those reports.

Trouble is that ECJ rulings aren't easily revisited.
And ECJ jurisprudence doesn't seem to have any concept of reductio ad absurdum to cause them to question whether their impeccable logic, having arrived at an absurd conclusion, might have started with an interpretation that itself needs to be questioned.
Its probably going to need some (new Euro) legislation to clarify things better.

But as I understand it, the law now says that its an offence to sell honey that contains any detectable GM pollen. (See the last sentence of the case report)

Question now is whether anyone is going to bother testing for it.
And the folks most interested in testing (and stirring sh1t for beekeeping) are those most opposed to GMOs.
Your pals are now your enemy!

 

[Brosville]

"could have amazingly beneficial results for humankind years down the line" - I frankly disagree - in the case of GM crops, all the evidence is the opposite - none of them have ever done "what they say on the tin", and are having extremely deleterious effects, not least because they are inextricably linked to the "Big Ag" way of doing things (vast chemical-sodden monocultures) that are laying waste to the environment, and ruining the livelihoods of the small farms and farmers (thousands of whom have committed suicide in India as a result of their involvement) - all in pursuit of the mighty dollar, and control of the food market from seed to plate...........

All the real advances in seed breeding have been achieved using "conventional" methods, so we should have the sense to not open Pandora's box in Europe - we don't need it at all - we need to recognise the enormous pressure we are under to adopt it, and look to the real motivations of those "pushing" it...

"And the folks most interested in testing (and stirring sh1t for beekeeping) are those most opposed to GMOs" - surely that is having a go at the wrong people - you should be targetting those trying to strongarm the damn stuff into the environment.... if it wasn't being grown anywhere in Europe, the problem would go away..

 

[itma]

...
"And the folks most interested in testing (and stirring sh1t for beekeeping) are those most opposed to GMOs" - surely that is having a go at the wrong people - you should be targetting those trying to strongarm the damn stuff into the environment.... if it wasn't being grown anywhere in Europe, the problem would go away..

Not having a go. Just pointing out the reality.
Its the anti-GM (and anti-EU) lobbies that will drive the publicising (and enforcement) of this bit of law.
They will stir the pot, and its beekeepers that will suffer from it.

 

[Brosville]

I'm sorry, you're putting totally the wrong emphasis on this - it sounds as if those who say honey shouldn't contain GM pollen as somehow "wrong" - as I said, you should direct your ire towards those trying to force it on us, not those who are trying to keep the muck out of Europe...

I must confess, it's proof of the excellence of their tactics in getting the stuff accepted - sow discord amongst the public, then "divide and conquer" - don't play into their hands!

If we don't "stir the pot" they'll get away with it, and Europe will "roll over" to the megacorps and allow them to ride roughshod over us - I don't think anyone with a scintilla of sense wants to penalise beekeepers for what is being visited upon them

 

[itma]

I'm not saying "don't".
I'm saying "this is what will happen".

Herr Bablok has thrown a boomerang that will likely affect all EU beekeepers, unless some mitigating action is taken swiftly at an EU-lawmaking level. Way above my pay grade.