Sixteen countries have drawn European Union's attention to opt out E.U. - approved genetically modified crops.
Food Navigator reported countries including Italy, Germany, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Denmark recently filed their requests and applications to opt out the growing GMO produce from major companies such as Dow, Sygenta, Pioneer and Monsanto, snowballing the number to 16.
Scotland publicly said in August that it would prohibit GMO crops out of concern as they could damage the country's "clean and green" brand.
"Scotland is known around the world for our beautiful natural environment - and banning growing genetically modified crops will protect and further enhance our clean, green status," Richard Lochhead, Secretary of Rural Affairs, said in a statement at the time.
"A growing number of governments are rejecting the commission's drive for GM crop approvals," Greenpeace's E.U. food policy director Franziska Achterberg said to the Guardian. "They don't trust the E.U. safety assessments and are rightly taking action to protect their agriculture and food. The only way to restore trust in the E.U. system now is for the commission to hit the pause button on GM crop approvals and to urgently reform safety testing and the approval system."
The publication even shared that environmentalist were happy and have praised the news. However, biotech and industry supporters have retorted to opt-outs with "weary resignation."
"The new E.U. legislation allowing these bans is a 'stop' sign for agricultural cultivation that sends a negative signal for all innovative industries considering investing in Europe," industry group Europabio Director Beat Spath told the Guardian.
Time informed that the science community holds a multiplicity of opinions on GMOs. Some members such as California Academy of Sciences Executive Director Jonathan Foley has disputed that the problem with GMOs is not really the technology but the fact that they have not lived up to their propaganda.
GMOs have been in the food supply for around 20 years in the United States; federal groups such as U.S. Food and Drug Administration have regulated these genetically engineered food and ingredients.
"While FDA regulates foods and ingredients, including foods made from [genetically engineered (GE)] plants, the agency neither supports GE plants based on their perceived benefits nor opposes them based on their perceived risks," the agency stated.
