THE UK has decided to embrace the commercial planting of genetically modified crops 鈥� or maybe not, depending on your interpretation of a government announcement on Tuesday.
The government鈥檚 provisional approval of one maize variety is a further weakening of Europe鈥檚 1998 moratorium on commercial GM crops. But environment secretary Margaret Beckett says the UK opposes planting two other GM crops in Europe: weedkiller-resistant oilseed rape (canola) and sugar beet.
Strings have been attached to the approval for Bayer鈥檚 Chardon LL maize. The UK must first give the crop official status as a new variety 鈥� a decision that will have to be agreed by the Welsh and Scotland legislatures, which are both sceptical of GM crops. The UK government is exploring whether these regions can declare 鈥淕M-free zones鈥�. The glufosinate ammonium weedkiller applied to the maize will also need approval.
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And approval for Chardon LL is valid only till 2006, after which Bayer must submit new evidence that it is more environmentally friendly than conventional crops sprayed with replacements for the weedkiller atrazine. It is this regime that the credentials of Chardon LL were originally judged against. Atrazine will be phased out in Europe in two years鈥� time.