France bans Monsanto's GM maize

Sacre bleu. At the end of last week, French president Nicolas Sarkozy took a stand against biotech giant Monsanto and banned a strain of GM maize which has previously been grown by French farmers.

Their MON 810 variety - according to AFP, the only type of GM maize currently being grown in France - has been withdrawn after a committee of scientists, farmers and politicians raised doubts over its continued use. Advocating the precautionary principle, Sarkozy invoked an EU clause to stop Monsanto's maize being grown.

It doesn't mean France will now be GM-free, as Sarkozy has made it clear that GM research and crops still have a place on the other side of the Channel, but his decision puts some meat on the bones of the green policy statement he made in October. It seems strange that, barely 18 months ago, the French government was trying to have maps pin-pointing the location of GM crops suppressed.

Needless to say, this move hasn't gone down well with the biotech industry. A statement issued by the Biological Industries Organisation claimed that the move is in violation of European and international trade laws, and "greatly infringes on the right of French farmers to have equal access and freedom to choose what crops are best for their farming operations." It's only at the end of the statement that environmental concerns enter the picture, but perhaps that's just as well. The biotech lobby has long been peddling the argument that GM crops are beneficial for the environment and climate change.

There are also rumours of a US trade war unless the EU overturns the decision, but for now it's a victory for the coalition of campaigners, including Greenpeace France, who have been working hard to clear French fields of GM crops.

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