September 23, 2005

European acceptance of GM corn still controversial
 

According to industry reports, farmers in five EU countries have started growing GM corn on a commercial scale.

France, Germany, Portugal and the Czech Republic expected to reap small amounts of Bt corn during the European autumn harvest. These corn would be resistant to the corn borer pest and used for animal feed.

Spain has been planting GM corn over a vast area, and would expect this year's corn harvest to top 50,000 hectares, industry reports said.

While this might be encouraging news for proponents of GM crops, their use has remained controversial in the EU.

Some environmentalists have also expressed their concerns that the new GM strains could destroy local ecosystems through cross-pollination.