France Imposes Bt Corn Ban
January 18, 2008| |
The French government has imposed a temporary ban on the use of the genetically modified (GM) corn Mon810, the only transgenic crop approved for cultivation in the European Union. The decision was made based on “serious doubts” regarding the safety of the biotech crop. Mon810 was approved for cultivation in the EU in 1998, and since then had been adopted by 13 countries. It was grown on more than 21,000 hectares in France last year.
To justify its decision in imposing the ban, France must offer new scientific evidences showing MON810 as a risk to human health or the environment to the European Union. Should it fail to do so, the EU will be forced to lift its ban.
Several groups have expressed their opinion on the decision. The French National farmer’s union, FNSEA, has criticized the ban. The European Association of BioIndustries (Europabio), on the other hand, commented that the French Government’s decision to invoke the safeguard clause on biotech maize contradicts the conclusions of the French Environment Round Table (Grenelle del’Environnement) and government policy on ecological and sustainable development. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has upheld its assessment that MON810 poses no risk.
Read the Europabio press release at http://www.europabio.org/articles/GBE/Press%20Release_140108_Frenchsafeguard.pdf Further information is available at http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/news/319.docu.html
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