Can GM, conventional and organic crops coexist ?
The concept of coexistence is well established, as farmers should be able to grow crops of their choice with no risk of economic loss due to activities of their neighbours. It should be noted that this is purely an economic issue, and has nothing to do with safety since these crops have undergone an extensive safety assessment before they are allowed to enter the market. Coexistence is not new. For example, it also applies to avoiding spray drift onto neighbouring crops in case of herbicide applications. Likewise, if industrial oilseed rape is grown for example, it is important that cross-pollination of oilseed rape is kept to a minimum. Also, plant breeders need to keep to a defined purity level for their seeds and manage this by ensuring a minimum separation distance between compatible varieties. Nevertheless, low levels of cross-pollination are inevitable, even over significant distances, and tolerance levels are set realistically with this in mind. In the case of conventional and o
The concept of coexistence is well established, as farmers should be able to grow crops of their choice with no risk of economic loss due to activities of their neighbours. It should be noted that this is purely an economic issue, and has nothing to do with safety since these crops have undergone an extensive safety assessment before they are allowed to enter the market. Coexistence is not new. For example, it also applies to avoiding spray drift onto neighbouring crops in case of herbicide applications. Likewise, if industrial oilseed rape is grown for example, it is important that cross-pollination of oilseed rape is kept to a minimum. Also, plant breeders need to keep to a defined purity level for their seeds and manage this by ensuring a minimum separation distance between compatible varieties. Nevertheless, low levels of cross-pollination are inevitable, even over significant distances, and tolerance levels are set realistically with this in mind. In the case of conventional and o
