Bayer scraps GM maize plans31 March 2004
No GM crops are likely to be grown in the UK until at least 2008, after Bayer CropScience announced they have shelved plans to commercialise their GM maize ChardonLL.
The GM maize had been given conditional Government approval in March, and could have been commercially grown in the UK as early as next spring. But the biotech company admitted that the crop is now "economically non-viable" because of restrictions on its cultivation proposed by the Government.
Serious question marks over the safety and performance of the GM maize were revealed during the 'seed list' hearings which took place in 2000-2002. Friends of the Earth forced these hearings after attempts were made to place the GM seed onto the UK national seed list, the final hurdle to commercial growing in the UK. Over 220 individuals and 60 organisations took part and gave written and oral objections, temporarily preventing the seed going onto the list. The crop has been the focus of a long-running campaign ever since.
The decision to withdraw ChardonLL is a significant victory for Friends of the Earth and other campaigners, and a body blow to the GM industry. After 14 years of research and development in the UK no commercial growing for any GM crop has been achieved. It is also an embarrassment for the pro-GM Blair Government.
Demand Zero Tolerance
Although the immediate threat of a GM crop being commercially grown in the UK has subsided, attempts to approve new GM crops and foods in Europe have not. The European Commission, under pressure from the US, is likely to start approving new GM foods, the first one up is a GM sweetcorn. The UK Government has already shown its support for it.
So now is the time to make sure that supermarkets have the tightest possible GM policies to ensure that GM doesn't sneak into our food and stays off our shelves. New, stronger European GM labelling regulations come into force on 18th April, but they will still allow for small amounts of GM contamination. We want supermarkets to guarantee that our food is genuinely GM free.
Take action
Demand your supermarket takes a zero tolerance approach to GM.
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