NEWS WORLD IN BRIEF RENEWABLE ENERGY
Ontario renewable power projects OTTAWA (Reuters) — Ontario has approved 40 new large-scale renewable power projects that will create 7,000 jobs and attract $3 billion in private sector investment, according to the provincial government. This second round of projects is expected to generate 872 megawatts of electricity from the sun, wind and water, enough for more than 200,000 homes. The province awarded contracts to 35 solar projects, generating a total of 257 MW of power, four wind projects, for a combined 615 MW, and one 500-kilowatt hydroelectric project.
THE WESTERN PRODUCER | WWW.PRODUCER.COM | MARCH 3, 2011
EUROPEAN UNION | GM APPROVAL
EU approval of trace GM content seen likely Would affect feed only | The European Commission says the 0.1 threshold will help secure grain imports BRUSSELS, Belgium (Reuters) — A European Union committee has voted to allow traces of unapproved genetically modified material in animal feed imports, the European Commission said, in a bid to secure grain supplies to the import-dependent bloc. EU governments now have three months to either approve or reject the committee’s decision, before the rules can be adopted by the EU executive as law. “In all likelihood the measure will be adopted by member states and EU parliamentarians, even if we expect a lively debate in the European Parlia-
ment,” one EU diplomat involved in the negotiations said. The commission, industry and exporting countries argue the 0.1 percent threshold is needed to avoid a repeat of supply disruptions in 2009, when U.S. soybean shipments to Europe were blocked after tiny quantities of unapproved GM material were found in some cargoes. The EU imported more than 51 million tonnes of animal feed last year, worth almost $20.5 billion Cdn, according to commission statistics. Green groups accused the EU executive of caving in to GM-industry lobbying by reversing its “zero-toler-
ance” policy on unauthorized crops. They said the move was an unnecessary solution to a problem that does not exist. “Weakening safety rules to appease the animal feed industry compromises human and environmental safety,” said Friends of the Earth food campaigner Mute Schimpf. But the head of EU feedmakers’ association Fefac, Patrick Vanden Avenne, said the decision would “safeguard vital supplies of new crop protein feeds from South America to our EU livestock industry”. It’s believed that once the rules were made more strict, the EU com-
FOOD SAFETY
German dioxin danger passed: EU HAMBURG, Germany (Reuters) — European Union health experts said Feb. 23 that they see no more danger from an alert in Germany concerning the toxic chemical dioxin found in animal feed, meat and eggs. An EU health alert started on Jan. 3 when German officials said animal feed tainted with poisonous dioxin had been fed to hens and pigs, contaminating eggs, poultry and pork at the affected farms. About 4,760 German farms were sealed off at the height of the alert but the number has now been cut to 49. WORLD CROPS
Rain, low prices cut corn estimates JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) — South Africa is expected to reap its lowest corn output in four years after lower prices last year discouraged farmers from seeding and heavy rains this year damaged plantings, the government said. Africa’s biggest corn producer would harvest 11.044 million tonnes of the staple in the current 2010-11 season, compared with the 12.815 million tonnes harvested in the previous season. The forecast by the Crop Estimates Committee are lower than a traders’ estimate of 11.53 million tonnes, according to a survey conducted by Reuters News Agency. FOOT AND MOUTH AFTERMATH
South Korea animal feed imports to fall SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) — Cow, pig and chicken slaughter to contain South Korea’s worst foot-and-mouth outbreak and combat avian flu will cut feed grain imports, mainly corn and wheat, by at least 1.3 million tonnes this year, a top Korea Feed Association official said. Weakening feed demand along with record high grain prices are likely to subdue buying activities of South Korean feed makers. Feed demand was seen dropping by at least 14 percent from last year’s 17.5 million tonnes due to the recent livestock cull, resulting in a sharp drop in feed grain imports. access=subscriber section=news,none,none
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mittee was able to gain majority approval. The GM crops in question must have been approved in a non-EU producing country and an EU authorization request must have been lodged with the European Food Safety Authority for at least three months, the diplomat said. “On top of that…. (European Food Safety Authority) must have given an assessment that the presence of GM products of 0.1 percent are not detrimental to health and environment,” the diplomat added. The 0.1 percent threshold will only apply to imports of animal feed and not human food. access=subscriber section=news,none,none