EUROPE鈥橲 relentless opposition to genetically modified crops is weakening further.
In a move hailed as 鈥渁 great success for consumers and farmers鈥� by German minister for consumer protection, food and agriculture, Renate K眉nast, the German government put forward a bill on 16 January that will allow the import, cultivation and sale of the controversial produce.
The proposal could be the start of a trend that would lead to the eventual lifting of the European Union鈥檚 four-year unofficial moratorium on the approval of new GM crops. Such a move would defuse international tensions over GM foods. The US sees the moratorium as an artificial barrier to free trade, and has taken its case to the World Trade Organization.
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Earlier this month, the UK edged closer to approving the cultivation of GM maize, its first modified crop. A firm decision to approve it could follow in February. The UK has also not yet decided whether to make farmers who grow GM produce liable for the consequences of any 鈥済enetic pollution鈥� spreading to neighbouring non-GM farms and rendering their produce unsaleable. 鈥淲e must address the issues of liability and coexistence of GM and non-GM crops,鈥� Elliott Morley, the UK agriculture minister, told New 杏吧原创.
Germany鈥檚 proposed new law covers this issue, and lays down strict rules governing the distances between fields growing GM and non-GM varieties of the same crop.