SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
'Non!': France Bans Monsanto's Genetically Modified Corn
French PM said decision was "to protect the environment"
Mar 16, 2012
France has announced today that it is imposing a new temporary ban on Monsanto's MON810 maize in the interests of protecting the environment.
The announcement comes from French Agricultural Minister Bruno Le Maire who said the decision was a "precautionary measure."
The move restates a 2008 ban, which was overturned by the country's highest court in November.
Last month France asked the European regulators to suspend the authorization to plant Monsanto's genetically modified MON810 corn saying the decision was based on studies showing GM crops "pose significant risks for the environment."
* * *
According to the official statement from the government on the ban of the cultivation of MON810, the Minister of Agriculture decided to take the conservative measure on the temporary ban of maize MON810 today due to the closeness of the sowing season in order to protect the environment.
* * *
Agence France-Presse reports:
France bans strain of Monsanto GM maize
[...] France's top administrative court in November overturned a government order banning French farmers from planting genetically modified crops from Monsanto. [...]
France's agriculture ministry imposed a ban in February 2008 amid concerns over public safety, but the French State Council said the government had failed to prove that Monsanto crops "present a particularly elevated level of risk to either human health or the environment". [...]
"If the European Union does not act, we can invoke the safeguard clause" which allows EU nations to independently restrict or prohibit the sales of products, the French agricultural ministry said.
* * *
Reuters adds:
France restores ban on GMO maize crops
[...] The government had immediately said it would "examine all ways" to maintain it despite the decision.
The decree banning MON810 was due to be published on Sunday, likely in time to prevent sowings as maize plantings are only starting in France. Farmers also expressed fears of having their fields ransacked by anti-GMO activists like in 2007, the year before the previous ban.
France, which holds a presidential election next month and where public opinion is fiercely opposed to genetically modified organisms (GMO), had asked the European Commission last month to suspend the authorisation to sow the maize (corn), the only GMO crop allowed for cultivation in the European Union.
The French government's request to the EU Commission was based on "significant risks for the environment" shown in recent scientific studies, it said.
With maize sowing getting underway in France, anti-GMOs had called on the government to act quickly, concerned that farmers may sow the plants sometimes dubbed as "Frankenstein foods".
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
France has announced today that it is imposing a new temporary ban on Monsanto's MON810 maize in the interests of protecting the environment.
The announcement comes from French Agricultural Minister Bruno Le Maire who said the decision was a "precautionary measure."
The move restates a 2008 ban, which was overturned by the country's highest court in November.
Last month France asked the European regulators to suspend the authorization to plant Monsanto's genetically modified MON810 corn saying the decision was based on studies showing GM crops "pose significant risks for the environment."
* * *
According to the official statement from the government on the ban of the cultivation of MON810, the Minister of Agriculture decided to take the conservative measure on the temporary ban of maize MON810 today due to the closeness of the sowing season in order to protect the environment.
* * *
Agence France-Presse reports:
France bans strain of Monsanto GM maize
[...] France's top administrative court in November overturned a government order banning French farmers from planting genetically modified crops from Monsanto. [...]
France's agriculture ministry imposed a ban in February 2008 amid concerns over public safety, but the French State Council said the government had failed to prove that Monsanto crops "present a particularly elevated level of risk to either human health or the environment". [...]
"If the European Union does not act, we can invoke the safeguard clause" which allows EU nations to independently restrict or prohibit the sales of products, the French agricultural ministry said.
* * *
Reuters adds:
France restores ban on GMO maize crops
[...] The government had immediately said it would "examine all ways" to maintain it despite the decision.
The decree banning MON810 was due to be published on Sunday, likely in time to prevent sowings as maize plantings are only starting in France. Farmers also expressed fears of having their fields ransacked by anti-GMO activists like in 2007, the year before the previous ban.
France, which holds a presidential election next month and where public opinion is fiercely opposed to genetically modified organisms (GMO), had asked the European Commission last month to suspend the authorisation to sow the maize (corn), the only GMO crop allowed for cultivation in the European Union.
The French government's request to the EU Commission was based on "significant risks for the environment" shown in recent scientific studies, it said.
With maize sowing getting underway in France, anti-GMOs had called on the government to act quickly, concerned that farmers may sow the plants sometimes dubbed as "Frankenstein foods".
France has announced today that it is imposing a new temporary ban on Monsanto's MON810 maize in the interests of protecting the environment.
The announcement comes from French Agricultural Minister Bruno Le Maire who said the decision was a "precautionary measure."
The move restates a 2008 ban, which was overturned by the country's highest court in November.
Last month France asked the European regulators to suspend the authorization to plant Monsanto's genetically modified MON810 corn saying the decision was based on studies showing GM crops "pose significant risks for the environment."
* * *
According to the official statement from the government on the ban of the cultivation of MON810, the Minister of Agriculture decided to take the conservative measure on the temporary ban of maize MON810 today due to the closeness of the sowing season in order to protect the environment.
* * *
Agence France-Presse reports:
France bans strain of Monsanto GM maize
[...] France's top administrative court in November overturned a government order banning French farmers from planting genetically modified crops from Monsanto. [...]
France's agriculture ministry imposed a ban in February 2008 amid concerns over public safety, but the French State Council said the government had failed to prove that Monsanto crops "present a particularly elevated level of risk to either human health or the environment". [...]
"If the European Union does not act, we can invoke the safeguard clause" which allows EU nations to independently restrict or prohibit the sales of products, the French agricultural ministry said.
* * *
Reuters adds:
France restores ban on GMO maize crops
[...] The government had immediately said it would "examine all ways" to maintain it despite the decision.
The decree banning MON810 was due to be published on Sunday, likely in time to prevent sowings as maize plantings are only starting in France. Farmers also expressed fears of having their fields ransacked by anti-GMO activists like in 2007, the year before the previous ban.
France, which holds a presidential election next month and where public opinion is fiercely opposed to genetically modified organisms (GMO), had asked the European Commission last month to suspend the authorisation to sow the maize (corn), the only GMO crop allowed for cultivation in the European Union.
The French government's request to the EU Commission was based on "significant risks for the environment" shown in recent scientific studies, it said.
With maize sowing getting underway in France, anti-GMOs had called on the government to act quickly, concerned that farmers may sow the plants sometimes dubbed as "Frankenstein foods".
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy