USDA: Germany agricultural biotechnology in 2014

According to a USDA report, Germany is the most populous and economical powerful country in the European Union (EU). Germany is quite influential in agricultural policy, both within the EU and globally. 

 

Germans are usually willing to innovate and open to new technology but agricultural biotechnology occupies a unique political space. German society remains conflicted regarding agricultural biotechnology and this is reflected in mixed government policies and messaging. Public rejection of genetically engineered (GE) crops is widespread. Polling shows German public opposition to GE foods has run steadily in the 80 percent range and that there is a high degree of familiarity with the issue.

 

For nearly a generation, German environmental and consumer activists have protested against the use of biotechnology in agriculture, both in Germany and globally. Biotech test plots - which are used both as a research tool and are a required part of the EU regulatory approval process - are routinely destroyed by vandals, to the point where test plots are no longer attempted in Germany today. The Federal government has banned the planting of an EU-approved GE corn. Many local governments and organizations within Germany have instituted biotech free zones. 

 

In the current environment, other than the existing feed market for soybeans, there is little prospect of developing a German market for GE crops or foods. Beyond this, political, business, regulatory, and social barriers raise questions about the long-term competitiveness of German plant biotechnology. 

 

Germany has given rise to world-class developers of GE crops, such as Bayer CropScience, BASF, and KWS. These companies are major suppliers of GE seeds and technologies to markets outside of Europe. However, in January 2012, BASF announced that it is moving its agricultural biotech operations from Germany to the United States, citing poor and deteriorating attitudes toward GE crops and poor marketing prospects in Europe. 

 

Germany nonetheless remains a major consumer of GE products since it imports more than 6 million metric tons of soybeans and soy meal for animal feed.