From Food First's newsletter

Resounding NO to GMOs in Europe and Asia

In Switzerland, home of the biotech corporation Syngenta, the majority of voters this week approved a five-year ban on the farming of genetically modified plants and animals. Switzerland's recent ban is one of the strictest in Europe. The EU only restricts certain GMO crops for shorter time periods. Daniel Ammann, spokesman for the anti-GMO coalition, reported that Swiss farmers' organizations unanimously supported the ban. In a climate where agriculture is undergoing severe cuts in traditional subsidies, farmers see growing organic and non-GMO as a clear alternative. "Swiss farming is already very ecologically sound and animal-friendly, and farmers are convinced now that with the added label of 'GMO-free', they will be able to emphasize the quality of Swiss produce," he said.

Denmark has just been authorized by the EU to reimburse farmers whose crops have been contaminated by GMOs. Danish GMO growers will be required to contribute to the reimbursement fund. Farmers such as French activist Jose Bove have been at the forefront of the European anti-GMO upsurge. Bove was sentenced this month to four months in prison for pulling up a field of GMO corn planted in France by an Iowa-based biotech company.

Protests against genetic engineering have been increasing all over the globe. In October, 17 organizations from Asia called for a global ban on GE rice. In the words of Varoonvarn Vangsopakul of Greenpeace, "it poses unacceptable risks to health and the environment, as well as people's livelihoods."

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/28/business/28food.html?pagewanted=all
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-11-27T160247Z_01_MOL757616_RTRUKOC_0_UK-FOOD-SWISS-GMOxml
http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/denmark112805.cfm http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/bove111605.cfm http://www.greenpeace.org.au/truefood/news2.html?mode=intl&newsid=275