Croatia: Members of Parliament call for a ban on GMO cultivation

Croatian lawmakers, discussing proposed amendments to the Genetically Modified Organisms Act in Parliament on Friday, called for a ban on GMO cultivation in Croatia.

The amendments bring Croatian legislation into accord with EU rules by providing for the possibility of restricting or banning GMO cultivation in part of or throughout the country, the State Secretary at the Ministry of Health, Željko Plazonić, said. "The only way we as an EU member can be a GMO-free country is to adopt the EU directive and then, being a conscientious member, not to allow GMO cultivation in our territory," Plazonić said.

The strongest criticism came from Živi Zid party, whose member Branimir Bunjac called the proposed bill "criminal", claiming it would "destroy our beautiful land, the soil, the air, the water and the health of the people." "You are acting on the orders of the EU whose bureaucrats are under the control of American corporations and you are actually legalising the introduction of GMO," Bunjac said.

Bunjac said that, apart from banning GMO cultivation, Croatia should also fully ban GMO food imports, warning of the destructive consequences of GMO for human health and the economy. "Already now there are over 400 GMO products on the shelves in Croatian shops," he claimed.

"We are undoubtedly against GMO cultivation in Croatia," said Josip Križanić of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). He noted that it was impossible for Croatia, as a member of the single market, to ban free movement of goods, such as meat from GMO-fed animals. "Since people always buy what is cheapest, it is important that such food should have an appropriate declaration," he added.

MOST MP Slaven Dobrović said that the EU directive was a compromise in that it gave member states the freedom to ban GMO. "Croatia has great development potential in sustainable agriculture which will generate healthy products rich in taste," he said.