France's ecology ministry said Monday it had asked European
regulators to suspend authorisation for the use of genetically modified
MON 810 maize crops from US company Monsanto based on new studies. The
request is "based on the latest scientific studies" which show that the
use of the GM crops "pose significant risks for the environment," the
ministry said in a statement.
The ministry pointed to a recent
study by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that raised concerns
with another form of GM crop, BT11, that it said could also be applied
to MON 810. "If the European Union does not act, we can invoke the
safeguard clause" which allows EU nations to independently restrict or
prohibit the sales of products, it said. President Nicolas Sarkozy
in November pledged to seek new legal measures after the European Court
of Justice and France's top administrative court overturned a French
ban on GM crops from US agriculture giant Monsanto. France's
agriculture ministry imposed a ban in February 2008 amid concerns over
public safety, but the French State Council said the government had
failed to prove that Monsanto crops "present a particularly elevated
level of risk to either human health or the environment".
Monsanto
markets MON 810 maize -- which has been modified at a genetic level to
include DNA from a bacteria -- under the trade name YieldGuard as being
resistant to insect pests that can threaten harvests.
But some governments believe it could pose a danger to plants and animals.
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