European Coexistence Bureau (ECoB) - Best Practice Document for coexistence of genetically modified cotton with conventional and organic farming

The Technical Working Group (TWG) for Cotton is the third one of the European Coexistence Bureau (ECoB) and is established for elaboration of the coexistence issues between genetically modified (GM) cotton cultivation and non-GM cotton and honey production in the EU. The present technical report analysed the possible sources for potential cross-pollination with GM cotton and adventitious admixture of GM cotton material such as seeds and pollen and presents consensually agreed by TWG for Cotton best practices for coexistence. The terms of reference for this review are presented in Section 1. The scope of the Best Practice Document is coexistence in cotton production in the EU. It includes the coexistence between GM cotton cultivation and honey production but excludes coexistence in seed production. The ECoB TWG for Cotton held two meetings in October 2014 and April 2015 and examined the state-of-the-art from scientific literature, research projects and empirical evidence provided by existing studies for segregation in cotton production looking at the factors determining the cross-pollination rates in cotton as well as other sources of admixture of GM material in conventional cotton harvests and EU-produced honey. The review of this information (coming from a total of 194 references) is presented in a structured manner in Sections 5 and 6 of this document. Finally, the TWG for Cotton reviewed the up todate approaches for the detection and identification of traces of GM cotton material in non-GM cotton harvests and honey (Section 7). The TWG for Cotton of the ECoB, based on the analysis of the evidence summarised in this document submitted proposals for best management practices, which form the ground the agreed consensus recommendations presented in Section 8, complemented by ex-ante view about their economic impact (Section 9).