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.
| |
Biotech Updates is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a not-for-profit organization. It is distributed for free to over 22,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10.
-
See more articles:
-
News from Around the World
- FAO: Include Farmers in Climate Change Negotiations
- Rebuttal re Erroneous Analysis on Transgenic Insecticidal Crops
- Killer Droughts are the Norm in West Africa, Study Finds
- Botswana’s Agric Research Director Calls for the Use of Biotech
- Overreliance on Roundup May Give Rise to Herbicide-Tolerant Weeds, says Purdue Study
- Ceres and University of Georgia Partner to Develop Improved Switchgrass Varieties
- Advanta and Arcadia Team Up to Develop Salinity-Tolerant Sorghum
- New Public-Private Partnership for Hybrid Rice in India
- Mayee Honored with Doctor of Science
- Current Science Reviews ISAAA Brief on Bt Brinjal in India
- Biotech Writing Competition Concluded in Indonesia
- Germany Bans GM Maize
- Wageningen and KeyGene Collaborate for Potato Genome Map
- EFSA's Opinion on Pioneer's GM Corn
-
Research Highlights
- Better Biofuels from Mapping of Plant Genes
- RNA Polymerase Motors Open Doors for Autonomous Molecular Experiments
-
Announcements
- Training on Biotech Application and its Regulation
- ICIES 2009 Calls for Papers
- 2009 CABI Global Summit
-
Resources
- New Journal on the Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production
-
Read the latest: - Biotech Updates (May 7, 2025)
- Gene Editing Supplement (April 30, 2025)
- Gene Drive Supplement (February 22, 2023)
-
Subscribe to BU: - Share
- Tweet