VZCZCXRO5000
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHFR #3077 1981604
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171604Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9008
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES
RUEHMRE/AMCONSUL MARSEILLE 1826
RUEHSR/AMCONSUL STRASBOURG 0452
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2715
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC

UNCLAS PARIS 003077 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
BRUSSELS PASS USEU FOR AGMINCOUNSELOR 
STATE FOR EUR/ERA, EUR/WE, EUR/PPD, IIP AND ECA; 
EEB/TPP/ABT(SPIRNAK); 
STATE PASS USTR FOR MURPHY; 
USDA/OS/JOHANNS/TERPSTRA; 
USDA/FAS FOR OA/YOST; 
OCRA/CURTIS 
STA/SIMMONS/JONES/HENNEY 
FAA/YOUNG; 
EU POSTS PASS TO AGRICULTURE AND ECON 
GENEVA FOR USTR, ALSO AGRICULTURE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ETRD EU FR
SUBJECT: IVLP ALUM MEET IN FRANCE 
 
 
¶1.  Summary:  Alumni from the 2003 European biotech and food safety 
group of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) met 
June 10-12 in Toulouse, France to continue their review of 
agricultural biotech issues.  Representatives from FAS/Paris and the 
American Presence Post in Toulouse consulate updated the group on 
U.S. biotech developments since 2003 and facilitated their 
interaction with French biotech stakeholders.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  Since 2003, the group has met in Copenhagen (Sept 2004) and 
Talinn, Estonia (May 2006) in an effort to continue their 
examination of biotech and food safety issues.  This time, the 
group, composed of Delphine Guey, communication director of the 
French planting seed organization, GNIS; Jan O.F. Lausten, Deputy 
Director General, Danish Agricultural Council; Reili Kivilo, Chief 
Inspector, Consumer Protection Board of Estonia; Jonathan Leake, 
Science and Environment Director, London "The Sunday Times," Odd 
Anders Nilsen, Norwegian lawyer; and Hans van Dongen, Department of 
Food Quality and Animal Health, Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, 
Nature and Food Quality, met with French biotech companies and 
farmers in southern France. 
 
¶3. The Agriculture Attache and Agriculture Economist from FAS/Paris 
and the Consul from the American Presence Post in Toulouse joined 
the group and briefed it on current U.S. developments in agriculture 
biotechnology.  GNIS reps presented the latest developments in the 
French agriculture biotech sector in terms of research, development 
and production. 
 
¶4. Afterwards, the group visited the headquarters and facilities of 
Syngenta and Pioneer, biotech seed companies, where it received 
additional briefings on the economic impacts of issues such as the 
EU's lengthy GMO approvals process; and the impact that the lack of 
an EU standard for the adventitious presence of biotech in planting 
seeds is having on players in the French biotech sector.  For 
example, Syngenta's Bt11 corn, submitted in France in 1996 and 
approved by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) in 2006, and 
Pioneer's 1507 corn, submitted for approval in Spain in 2001 and 
approved by EFSA in 2006 are both still waiting final approval at 
the European level. 
 
¶5.  The group also visited two farming operations, one organic and 
one biotech, where discussions centered on coexistence issues and 
the expansion of Bt corn acreage in 2007 (20,000 ha) from 2006 
(5,200 ha).  According to the farmers, the strong increase resulted 
from several factors:  reduced pesticide costs, higher yields, and 
lower mycotoxin levels of the 2006 biotech corn crop.  In addition, 
as more companies licensed Monsanto's Mon810, the only event 
authorized for cultivation in France since 1998, to produce their 
own biotech corn seeds, French farmers also had a wider variety of 
biotech seeds to choose from this year. 
 
¶7.  Delphine Guey, the French IVLP participant and organizer of this 
meeting, has developed, since her trip to the United States, into a 
solid ally in favor of agricultural biotechnology, and advocates its 
benefits to a host of French agricultural stakeholders.  Also, 
London's Sunday Times published an article on July 1 written by the 
British IVLP participant titled "Europe set to lift ban on GM 
crops."  The article mentioned the considerable activity on the part 
of the U.S. government to persuade European authorities to deploy 
greater biotech resources. 
 
¶8.   The group plans to meet again in 2008 in the United Kingdom. 
This Embassy will continue to support the group's ongoing 
examination of biotech issues and encourage its positive influence 
in France. 
 
 
STAPLETON