Germany Bans GM Maize
April 17, 2009| |
German farmers will not be able to grow genetically modified maize varieties this planting season. Germany's agriculture minister Ilse Aigner has banned the cultivation of MON810 insect-resistant maize in the country. The GM maize, developed by Monsanto Company, is the only genetically modified crop approved for cultivation in the European Union. Germany now joins Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Austria and France, countries that have enforced a similar ban on the pest-resistant maize. Aigner invoked the safeguard clause of the EU's release directive.
The German Agriculture Minister told reporters that she had reasons to believe that GM maize poses danger to the environment. However, she didn't mention new scientific evidence that supported her claim. Aigner's move was supported by Sigmar Gabriel, Germany's Environment Minister. Research Minister Annette Schavan, on the other hand, called the decision "regrettable". Nature magazine has quoted Schavan as saying "Agricultural biotechnology is an important technology for the future that neither Germany nor Europe can leave aside".
Monsanto announced that it will take legal action against the ban. Should the ban not stand up to a judicial examination, the Federation could be faced with damage claims of more than seven million Euros
Read http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/news/432.docu.html and http://www.nature.com/news/2009/090414/full/news.2009.364.html for more information.
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