Coexistence Rules and Regulations in the European Union

Applying Safety Science to Genetically Modified Agriculture

“…These precautions might not be enough, and other strategies detailed further below are under discussion. As we can see, such dilemma is at the core of any concrete discussion of GMOs future in Europe for example, where the co-existence requirement is applied (Beckmann, Soregaroli, & Wesseler, 2006;Coléno, Angevin, & Lécroart, 2009).…”

Benefits and Costs of Biologically Contained Genetically Modified Tomatoes and Eggplants in Italy and Spain

“…There is a wide variety in the regulations that EU states have adopted to govern the production, processing, and sale of GM crops. Two types of regulation can be distinguished, ex ante and ex post, indicating the type of liability rules that farmers face in their decision to plant GM crops [5]. Ex ante regulation focuses on the conditions and constraints that farmers have to meet in the production process of GM crops.…”

“…Table 3. Relevant legislation on coexistence of GM and non-GM crops in Italy and Spain (Source: [1,5]). In both countries, the approval of GM tomatoes or eggplants is expected to require a restrictive minimum distance requirement in order to avoid cross-pollination.…”

“…An example of such a containment measure is the control of pollen-mediated gene flow from the plant via transgenic male-sterility systems [3,4]. Hence, biologically contained GM crops do not require the stringent coexistence regulation that exists for regular GM crops in the European Union and are under debate in the US [1,5].…”

“…A large and diverse portfolio of regulations exists to regulate the commercial cultivation of GM crops in Europe [1,5]. The costs associated with these measures, and minimum distance requirements in particular, can severely constrain the adoption of GM crops.…”