Open Letter to Germany’s Call to Ban Biotech Maize
March 6, 2009| |
"Nothing has been found to indicate that MON810 (biotech maize) represents a bigger or different risk to the environment than that presented by conventional maize cultivation. On the contrary, the cultivation of MON810 proved to be much more gentle on the environment than using insecticides to treat fields infested with the European corn borer." German ecologist Dr. Stefan Rauschen, who has been conducting research on the environmental safety of Bt maize, forwarded this perspective in an open letter to Germany's Minister of Agricuture IIse Aigner and the Bavarian Environment and Health Minister, Markus Söder (CSU). IIse had earlier said she was considering a ban on the cultivation of genetically modified maize in Germany.
"The discrepancy between the scientific findings on the one hand and the political activities on the other undermines the credibility of the German and international researchers and the institutions at which this research is conducted. If politicians do not take the results of this research seriously and ignore them, why should citizens do otherwise?"
Read more about the open letter of Dr. Stefen Rauschen and the Minister of Agriculture's call for a ban on the cultivation of GM maize at http://www.gmo-safety.eu/en/news/679.docu.html
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