Germany last week banned the cultivation of Monsanto's genetically modified maize (corn), MON810 — the only transgenic crop approved for cultivation in the European Union (EU).
It joins five other countries — France, Austria, Greece, Hungary and Luxembourg — that have outlawed the US firm's pest-resistant maize despite its approval under a legally binding EU directive (see Nature 457, 946–947; 2009).
Ilse Aigner, Germany's federal agricultural minister, announced the ban on 14 April, just days before the crop would have been sown. Research minister Annette Schavan called the decision "regrettable".
The European Commission says it is analysing the situation. So far, it has not succeeded in forcing the other EU countries to reverse their bans because it cannot muster the required level of support from its 27 member states.
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Germany joins in with maize moratorium. Nature 458, 958 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/458958f
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/458958f
