Friday 19 July 2013

No more GMO: Monsanto drops bid to approve new crops in Europe — RT News

No more GMO: Monsanto drops bid to approve new crops in Europe — RT News



No more GMO: Monsanto drops bid to approve new crops in Europe

Published time: July 19, 2013 12:10
A corn field in Godewaersvelde, northern France. (AFP Photo / Philippe Huguen)
A corn field in Godewaersvelde, northern France. (AFP Photo / Philippe Huguen)
The world’s largest seed corporation says it has dropped its bid to get more genetically modified crops onto the European market due to the wide-spread popular opposition. The biotech giant says it will expand its share of the natural seed market instead.
“We will no longer be pursuing approvals for cultivation of new biotech crops in Europe. Instead, we will focus on enabling imports of biotech crops into the EU and the growth of our current business there,” the US-based company said in an email statement.
The pending applications for GM crops –  6 types of corn, a soybean variety and a modified sugar beet –  will be withdrawn shortly, the biotech giant stressed.
Currently, only two GM crops are approved in Europe, the MON810 maize and a modified potato created by BASF, a German biotech company. However, much of the allowed genetically modified produce is delivered to Europe as animal feed.
Europe has long expressed its concern over the effects of GM food produce on human health.
Several EU member states, including France, Germany, Austria, Spain, have banned the cultivation of genetically-modified crops.

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