ENSSER participated in the organisation of the Third International Conference on Implications of GM Crop Cultivation at Large Spatial Scales (GMLS-III) convened in June 2012 in Bremen (Germany). Several ENSSER members gave key note speeches and presentations. More than sixty participants from
18 countries attended the meeting. The programme listed 36 contributions, consisting of keynotes, offered presentations, and posters. As with the previous GMLS conferences 2008 and 2010, the presentations and posters will be compiled in a proceedings volume and published in the Peter Lang Verlag. They will be available also on the conference website www.gmls.eu
GMLS III highlighted important recent scientific developments in the analysis of risks in the agricultural use of GMO. While in some countries a GMO-based agriculture has been largely established, other regions of the world continue cultivation of conventional varieties only. This acknowledges a persistent reservation of the public towards GMO products. The overall need of an emphasis in independent studies became continuously more obvious.
The Vice Chairwoman of the Bremen State Parliament Group of Bündnis90/die Grünen and Speaker for Environmental Policy, Dr. Maike Schaefer, welcomed the participants and outlined Bremen’s policy on GMO. After an engaged public debate, the Parliament finally established the Federal State as a GMO free region, following the wish of the vast majority of consumers and also the farmers operating on communal farmland in Bremen.