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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

THE "GM" MAIZE-ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

How divisive the cultivation of GM crops can be, is reflected by the on-going arguments amongst EU nations regarding the desirability of adopting Monsanto's new GM Maize and the consequences there of. The only GM crop allowed in some European countries is Maize and even here there does not seem to be any unanimity. It appears EU may ask for more studies to address the concerns expressed about the negative impact of introducing this crop in Europe.

"HCB called for further studies to evaluate potential drawbacks in MON 810, such as damage to non-targeted insects or the development of resistance to the crop among targeted pests. "The only way to highlight ... a significant increase or decrease in populations of non-targeted invertebrates is to implement monitoring over several years," the HCB said. The committee also said more work was needed to establish the benefits of the maize type versus other growing techniques, especially in areas not significantly affected by the pests MON 810 was designed to resist".

GM technology has put the US and EU on a collision course as the former is the top most country in this planet growing almost all food crops using GM technology. In such an environment the free trade concept under the WTO regime is likely to suffer in the coming years unless some sort of a consensus emerges on the safety of GM crops.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

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