Update Date: 2009/04/16 03:17
By Chen Youwen / Comprehensive Report

German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner announced on the 14th that Germany will ban the cultivation and sale of genetically modified corn, a decision that will impact MON810 corn developed by the American biotech company Monsanto.

Aigner stated that she had reasonable grounds to believe that MON810 genetically modified corn poses a risk to the environment. She emphasized that the decision was based on scientific factors and carried no political implications. She clarified that this was an isolated case and did not signify Germany's opposition to all genetically modified crops. The German Ministry of Agriculture is currently preparing a report on the safety concerns surrounding genetically modified corn.

Currently, MON810 corn is the only genetically modified crop approved by the European Union for commercial use. Aigner noted that despite EU approval, five other EU countries have also banned the cultivation of genetically modified corn within their borders.

Aigner’s decision has been welcomed by the German environmental group BUND.

Source: http://tw. news. yahoo. com/ article/ url/ d/ a/ 090416/ 4/ 1hxcp. html