Apr 11, 2012

Poland sets ban on Monsanto's MON810 GM corn

Recent protests by beekeepers and anti-GMO activists have a successful conclusion when Poland officially imposed ban on Monsanto's MON810 GMO corn.

Minister of Agriculture in the Polish Government, Marek Sawicki has set another international standard against Monsanto's controversial GMOs. Sawicki says that as well as being linked to range of health ailments, the pollen originating from this GM strain might actually be devastating to the already reduced bee population in the country.

According to AFP, Sawicki told the press: "The decree is in the works. It introduces a complete ban on the MON810 strain of corn in Poland."

On March 9th, there was similar opposition to Monsanto GMO strains. On that date seven European countries blocked the proposal by the Danish presidency to permit the cultivation of GMO crops on the entire European continent. The countries who blocked this proposal were Belgium, Britain, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Ireland and Slovakia. A week after this announcement, France imposed a temporary ban on the Monsanto MON810 strain.

In Lyon, France, a ruling was given by the court after Paul Francois, a grain grower, advised that Monsanto had failed to provide sufficient warnings on its Lasso Weedkiller product label. Lack of warnings has caused neurological problems, including headaches and memory loss.

Following testimony, the court ordered an expert opinion to verify the link between Lasso and the illnesses that have been reported and also to determine the sum of damages payable. The result of the court hearing was that Monsanto was guilty, and this has paved the way for similar legal action on behalf of farmers in the future.

Further in France, the agricultural branch of the social security system has gathered approximately 200 alerts per year since 1996, in connection with pesticide-related sickness. Despite this, only 47 cases have been recognised in the last 10 years.

The fight against Monsanto continues with many countries fighting the GMO products, including India, who are slamming the agro-giant with "bio-piracy" charges, and Hungary, who recently destroyed 1,000 acres of GM corn.

The victory in Poland is yet another notch in the belt of anti-GMO activists worldwide.