madam president i welcome the revision of the novel food regulation which must stimulate innovation in the food and drink industry
it must protect the functioning of the internal market and public health and at the same time facilitate market access for novel foods
however i have some concerns generally about what i will call the scientific antipathy and distrust of this european parliament and indeed of our national parliaments which has become a matter of serious concern on a whole range of areas at this stage
we do not do justice to ourselves with emotive hysterical or populist responses to the latest peer-reviewed scientific developments and we do not do justice to our democratic mandate
when gm products cloning and nanotechnology are mentioned in this house then it is belt-and-braces and the answer is no then we slowly open up and delay authorisation
i am concerned with efsa madam commissioner and whether it has the resource capacity to process dossiers under this regulation in a timely but thorough way
if our embarrassing experience with the gm food and feed authorisations and rate of progress thereon are anything to go by the answer must be no
why do we respond as if we are scientific illiterates on any new aspect of this area
why do we distrust peer-reviewed science to such an extent
have none of us or very few of us scientific backgrounds in this parliament at all
the same question can be asked of national parliaments
we must base legislation on thorough serious science and accept that
if not our credibility as legislators is in question
