German GM wheat trials approved but site sabotaged (10/4/2003) | |
10 April 2003 GERMAN GM WHEAT TRIALS APPROVED BUT SITE SABOTAGED German GM wheat trials approved but site sabotaged HAMBURG, April 9 (Reuters) - German authorities said on Wednesday they have approved an application from Swiss agribusiness group Syngenta AG to start Germany's first trials of genetically-modified (GM) wheat. But on Tuesday some 25 Greenpeace activists sowed organic wheat seed on the test site, aimed at ruining trials as it will be impossible to tell the difference between GMO and conventional wheat, said Greenpeace spokesman Henning Strodthoff. A spokesman for Germany's state owned Robert Koch scientific institute, responsible for approving the safety of GM crop trials in the country, said on Wednesday approval for trials this year on the 400 metre site had been given. The country forbids commercial production of GM crops but permits research plantings. Syngenta had applied for permission for trail plantings of wheat resistant to the fungus fusarium in the eastern state of Thuringia. About 75 square metres would actually have had GM seeds. "It does seem that the test area may not be usable," said Peter Hefner, a spokesman for Syngenta in Germany. "There is a time limit to plantings because of the wheat's biology." "The approval process is also extremely complex and we cannot simply ignore it to react to this changed situation." He added: "We have gone through the approval process and answered all objections about safety. The application was approved but trials cannot go forward because an apparent legal act has occurred." "This raises questions about how we can undertake scientific research in Germany. It appears undertaking such research in Germany will be problematic." He said Syngenta is studying the legality of the protest and reserves its right to take legal action. Greenpeace's Strodthoff said the organisation did not regard its protest as illegal. "At the time of the planting this was just normal farmland and no approval for GM trials had been given," he said. *** Syngenta says GM wheat at least five years away Source - Reuters Securities News (Eng) Thursday, April 10, 2003 00:34 |