January 11, 2008

 

French Pres considers barring genetically modified corn

 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday (January 10, 2008) was facing a decision whether to bar a strain of genetically modified corn after a watchdog authority said it had "serious doubts" about the product.

 

Sarkozy told a press conference Thursday he was working with Prime Minister Francois Fillon toward a decision on suspending the Monsanto 810 maize, and would make an announcement in the "coming few days."

 

On Wednesday, France's Provisional High Authority on GM Organisms said it had "serious doubts" as to the safety of Mon 810. It pointed to what it described as "a certain number of new scientific facts relating to a negative impact on flora and fauna."

 

Its chairman, Jean-Francois Le Grand, who is also senator for the northern French department of the Manche, said evidence had emerged that Mon 810 had an effect on insects, a species of earthworm and micro-organisms.

 

There was also concern that wind-born pollen from Mon 810 could travel "tens, even hundreds of kilometers (miles), whereas previous studies saw a range of only a few dozen or hundred meters (yards)," said Le Grand.

 

But in a surprise development, 12 of the 15 scientists who compiled the authority's report issued a statement Thursday complaining that Le Grand had misrepresented their findings.

 

They said their initial report had not used the words "serious doubts" or "negative" concerning the latest evidence on genetically modified crops. They also complained they had not been allowed time to carry out a "fuller expertise" of Mon 810.

 

Genetically modified crops are a fiercely contested question in Europe, pitting agribusiness corporations against a powerful green lobby.

 

French anti-globalization activist Jose Bove - who has been convicted of ripping up genetically modified crops in southern France - launched a hunger strike last week to press for a year-long ban on genetically modified crops.

 

Under European Union laws, a member state can invoke a safeguard clause, enabling it to bar a genetically modified crop that has otherwise been given EU-wide authorization, provided it has scientific evidence to back this decision.

 

Six other EU members have already invoked this clause.