Govt Approves GM Maize

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Tuesday, 09 March 2004

The UK government has said it agrees in principle to the commercial cultivation of genetically modified herbicide-tolerant maize.

In a decision that is likely to anger environmental lobby groups, the UKs environment secretary Margaret Beckett said the government-backed science review had concluded that there was no scientific case for ruling out all GM crops or products.

Beckett said the government expects coexistence measures to be in place before any GM crops are grown commercially, and that commercial cultivation of GM maize is not anticipated before spring 2005 at the earliest.

Environmental groups were quick to voice their disapproval of the decision. "The government must reconsider its plans," Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper was quoted by Reuters as saying. "Tony Blair must not ignore the threat GM poses to our food, farming and the environment."

Source: just-food.com