Amid continuing European ambivalence over the introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops and intense international pressure on the EU to lift its 5-year de facto ban on such products, a series of homegrown movements against GMO’s has begun to take root in important agricultural regions around Greece.

From Rhodope in the North, Thessaly in the central mainland, Zakynthos Island in the west and Crete in the south, local authorities, environmental organizations and other civic groups are becoming increasingly vocal in their demands that their regions, and the whole of Greece, be declared GMO-free zones. The opposition is fueled by fears that the genetically engineered crops will compromise local ecosystems and interfere with efforts to develop organic products and local varieties.

These sentiments were echoed in the recent recommendation by the Greek National Bioethics Commission , which has proposed that Greece adopt a temporary moratorium on the cultivation of gm crops, concentrating instead on “integrated and sustainable agricultural practices.”

Local initiatives began just as the European Union seemed to be on the verge of loosening its de facto moratorium on the genetically modified crops. A proposal by the European Commission , that a biotech sweetcorn manufactured by Swiss agrochemical giant Syngenta be approved for importation, was rejected in early December at a meeting of the EU Food Chain and Animal Health Committee.

Greece, along with France, Austria, Portugal, Denmark and Luxembourg voted against the proposal, which will now pass to the Council of agriculture ministers. The ministers will have three months to act on the issue; otherwise, the file will return to the Commission for a final decision.

No GM products have been approved for importation into the EU since 1998, after Greece, France, Italy, Denmark and Luxembourg declared their intention to block new GMO approvals pending the adoption of legislation regulating the traceability and labeling of GMO’s and their derivatives. The five were later joined by Austria and Belgium.

New stricter EU regulations on labeling and traceability of GM products took effect as of October 2003. The new rules would require that products containing more than .9% genetically modified materials would have to be clearly labeled as such. The rules also require the establishment of systems to enable the tracing of gm products from field to consumer.

“Categorically opposed”
In Greece, anti-gmo activism began in late 2003 on Ionian island of Zakynthos – a producer of high-quality crops – when a local council vote asked the government to declare all of Greece a GMO-free zone. Shortly thereafter, anti-GMO sentiment spread to the Central Greek Department of Thessaly, a region whose fertile plains have earned it the nickname of breadbasket of Greece.

Here, in a broad and coordinated effort, more than fifty agricultural, environmental and civic groups have created the Panthessalian Network against GM crops, with the purpose of organizing information campaigns for both citizens and farmers and having Thessaly declared a GMO-free zone. They have also called on the rest of Greece to participate in creating a “truly Panhellenic network against GM crops.” Even before the creation of the Network, the prefectural council of Thessaly’s Trikala prefecture had voted its desire to become a GM-free zone.

In the northern prefecture of Rhodope, famous for its virgin forests, prefect Aristidis Yannakidis did not mince words when he recently told reporters from the daily Kathimerini : “We are categorically opposed to the cultivation of genetically modified crops in our region. We have an amazing ecosystem. Why should we disturb its balance?” The region aspires to develop ecotourism and organic farming, as well as to promote local varieties – goals which, as Yannakidis pointed out, are hardly compatible with the introduction of GM crops:

“Half the prefecture, the area that stretches toward the sea, is protected by the Ramsar Convention , while the northern and mountainous region is literally virgin. We aspire to develop low-impact and environmentally friendly tourist activities, while upgrading agricultural production at the same time. GM crops will only place obstacles to all this.” Yannakidis asserted. “We have already moved ahead in the cultivation of herbs, while we will immediately proceed with the establishment of controlled appellations of origin for local products and the certification of organic crops.”

In a meeting last November, representatives from Rhodope prefecture joined delegates from agricultural regions in France, Italy, Germany, and the UK in pressing their demands for the creation of GMO-free zones.

While in the Cretan municipality of Chania , the municipal council voted to declare the area gm-free. The council hopes to open a dialogue with the island’s other local authorities, with the aim of extending the interdiction to the entire island.

Organic growth
Unfortunately, once released, genetically modified crops are as hard to control as the wind that wafts their pollen through the air. During random sampling by local Greenpeace branch, conducted recently on cotton and cotton products harvested in Greece, six out of seven samples were found to be contaminated with genes from genetically modified cotton. This, despite strict oversight via frequent sampling of imported seed imposed by the ministries of agriculture and environment welcome_en.html in 2001, after the highly publicized discovery of contaminated cotton seed in Greece.

While currently only about .9% of Greek arable land is used for organic farming, the practice has been increasing by about 50% annually since 1993. Olive groves account for the greatest proportion of organically cultivated land (53.5%), with vineyards coming a distant second (7.9%), followed by wheat (4.8%), barley (3.8%), and citrus fruit (3.7%).

According to the environmental organization Friends of the Earth , 70% of Europe’s citizens are opposed to the importation of GM products.