It’s a very good day today. I feel great and I love my country very very much. One month before I was angry, very angry because I had read one article in newspaper about GM corn seeds from Monsanto.

European Union wanted to stop the GM corn seeds ban of Greece and France. We don’t want to allow genetically modified corn seeds from US and Monsanto here and it will be horrible if EU force us to accept those Monsanto seeds.

So, do you want to know what happen?  Nine of the 27 European Union nations supported the commission call for the ban to be lifted while 16 opposed it or abstained.

Monsanto’s MON810 strain is the only genetically modified crop approved in the European Union but it’s not approved in my country. We don’t want it here. Many thanks for the support. Say NO to Monsanto GM seeds.

These days I was in Brussels and European Parliament. I was there with other bloggers from Greece after we reveived one invitation to go there and talk for personal data protection. In our program we also had one meeting with people from Mr Stavros Dimas team, because the same days mr Stavros Dimas (European Commissioner for the Environment) was in Thessaloniki.  Ok this is funny because I went in Brussels and he went in my city, when I come back he went in Brussels. I will never meet him in my life I think.

So, many bloggers ask questions for environment, in the people from his team and I also ask them about the problem we have in Europe with the official EU-approved seed list and heirloom varieties problem. Unfortunately they answer me that they didn’t knew about this because it’s agriculture theme and that they must read more about this issue.

For me this is wrong, because we can’t talk about biodiversity protection and environment when we lost so easy so many varieties with this crazy official seed list.

We had many questions and no time, so they told us that maybe is good to meet all together online and continue talk about environment and biodiversity. I have no idea if this will happen the next months, but if it is we can continue ask them to stop this crazy list.

I found this in my feeds.  I think is important.

From 1 September, new standards impose uniform limits on pesticide residues in food across the EU.

The new standards are intended to ensure consumer protection and ease trade and imports. “Food produced or imported in one member state must be safe for consumers in all of them,” health commissioner Androulla Vassiliou explained.

We are exposed to pesticides when small amounts left on harvested crops find their way into our food. Limits are set on these residues to minimise exposure and avoid unacceptable health risks.

The pesticide residues law covers about 1 100 pesticides used in agriculture in or outside the EU. It lists maximum residue levels for a wide range of products — everything from meat, milk, vegetables and fruit to nuts, spices and animal feed. The limits apply to both fresh and processed products, adjusted for dilution or concentration.

Previously, the EU set limits for some pesticides while individual countries were responsible for others. Residues exceeding the limit in one country were acceptable in another, while for some pesticides, there were no limits at all. The lack of uniformity was confusing for traders and consumers alike.

The new limits take account of the needs of the most vulnerable groups, such as babies and children. An important principle is that food safety takes priority over plant protection.

EU governments are responsible for enforcing the law but the commission will monitor compliance. The limits for particular pesticides and crops can be found using the commission’s online pesticide residue database.

via Europa