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German court rules against US biotech giant Monsanto
Berlin (AFP) May 5, 2009 US biotech giant Monsanto lost a court battle Tuesday against a move by Germany to outlaw a type of genetically modified maize manufactured by the firm seen as a danger to the environment. The administrative court in the central city of Brunswick denied the company an emergency injunction against the ban on MON 810 maize, which Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner introduced last month on environmental grounds. The court said the government had presented enough evidence that the maize -- modified to be super resistant to crop-destroying insects -- "poses a risk as laid out in genetic technology law". It said Berlin was under no obligation to provide definitive scientific proof of a danger to the environment to justify outlawing the crop. Aigner said recent studies indicated that MON 810 not only produced a substance toxic to predators but also to other insects and that the plant's pollen spread further than originally thought. Monsanto called Aigner's policy a "capricious ban" with no scientific basis and said it was reviewing whether to appeal the decision to a higher court. It has argued that the safety of MON 810 has been demonstrated by the United States, Japan, Canada and the European Commission. Fields containing genetically modified corn make up a mere 0.2 percent of Germany's total maize-producing land -- with only 3,700 hectares (9,100 acres) of land sown with GM maize -- making the case largely symbolic. Critics have called Aigner's decision political, accusing her party, the conservative Bavarian Christian Social Union, of trying to score points with consumers in an election year. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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