The impact of the EU GMO policy on the competitiveness of the livestock industry

The stringent GMO policy of the EU adversely affects the competitiveness of the member states’ livestock industries, in particular the poultry and pig sectors. This arises from the fact that the EU animal industry is highly dependent on the import of feedstuffs sourced from pro-GMO countries. The import is expected to face increasing difficulties especially due to two elements of the EU GMO policy: the prolonged approval process of new GM varieties and the zero tolerance threshold towards GMOs that have not yet received authorization. To overcome this problem the study recommends actions including the speeding up of the authorization process and the introduction of a tolerance level for unapproved GMOs.EU GMO policy, zero tolerance threshold, asynchronous authorisation, soybean imports, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty,