Those For...

Support is growing amongst EU lawmakers for a proposal that would allow each government to decide whether or not to ban genetically modified (GM) crops in their country.

Those in favor of a ban on GM crops cite environmental and health concerns as justification for the ban, especially because the use of GM crops and certain herbicides create herbicide-resistant superweeds.

If passed, all EU countries would have to adopt measures to prevent the spread of GM crops to other crops.

Those Against...

However, the biotech industry and those against the GM ban say that the environmental and health concerns are not justified.

All crops are already inspected by the EU safety approval process, so they argue that environmental and health problems have already been addressed with GM crops. They argue that this ban is fueled by political issues.

A History Of Division

This case has a long history of division.

Some countries say that their right to choose whether GM foods enter their country must be upheld, while others argue that a country-to-country policy would disrupt trade.

The US, Canada and Argentina successfully sued the EU in 2004 through the World Trade Organization saying that a GM ban unfairly hurts trade.

Read More:

• EU lawmakers give backing for national GM crop bans (Reuters)
• Biotech-Crop Cultivation Flexibility Backed by EU Lawmakers (Bloomberg)