This morning, I’m adding this late-breaking news from Germany…
Germany bans Monsanto’s GM maize
Germany is to ban the cultivation of genetically modified
(GM) maize – the only GM crop widely grown in Europe.The decision, announced on Tuesday by German Agriculture
Minister Ilse Aigner, is a blow to the US biotech firm Monsanto, which markets
the maize.
Monsanto’s variety, called MON 810, is resistant to the
corn borer, a moth larva which eats the stem. MON 810 is controversial in the EU. Several countries
have banned it, defying the European Commission.
Ms Aigner, a member of the conservative Bavaria-based
Christian Social Union (CSU), said she had concluded that “there is a
justifiable reason to believe that… MON 810 presents a danger to the
environment”.The variety has been allowed in Germany since 2005. Ms
Aigner said the decision to ban it now, based on new data, was purely
scientific, not political. She also said it was a specific case, and not a
fundamental decision against all GM crops.
In March EU governments resisted European Commission
pressure to get bans on MON 810 lifted. The commission wanted Austria and
Hungary to allow cultivation of MON 810. The variety is also banned in France
and Greece. The UK was among a handful of countries that supported
the commission’s position, the AFP news agency reports.
Germany was planning to sow MON 810 on just 3,600
hectares (8,892 acres) for this summer’s harvest, mostly in its eastern
states. Opponents of GM crops say more scientific data is needed,
arguing that their long-term genetic impact on humans and wildlife could be
harmful.The biotech industry says the crops are as safe as
traditional varieties, and that they would provide plentiful, cheaper food.
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/7998181.stm
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The church may have much to say on this issue of genetic engineering, something that has traditionally been in God’s portfolio.
I trust you’ll find this series of videos on Monsanto enlightening…
There is interest among our partners about Monsanto, especially in India where there has been enthusiastic resistance against their efforts to grow transgenic crops. Chetna is one such group, which is part of Joining Hands.