Originally from: Farmtalking
                        
09:00 – 01 April 2004

 Genetically modified maize which campaigners feared would blight the Westcountry's environment will not be grown for the "foreseeable future".

German biotechnology company Bayer CropScience has decided against cultivating the herbicide-resistant maize in the UK, blaming Government constraints which, it said, would make the GM crop "economically non-viable".

Bayer was the only company eligible to grow the genetically modified maize Chardon LL in the UK. And anti-GM campaigners feared the crop would become widespread across the South West where a large proportion of conventional fodder maize is already grown.

However, Bayer's decision was likely to put an end to GM crop-growing in this country for "the foreseeable future", a spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said.

In a statement, Bayer CropScience said Government-imposed conditions would stall GM maize production for too long. It said: "The specific details of these conditions are still not available and thus will result in yet another 'open-ended' period of delay. These uncertainties and undefined timelines will make this five-year-old variety economically non-viable."

Defending the Government's stance on GM maize, Environment Minister Elliot Morley said: "We do not apologise for the fact that there is a tough EU-wide regulatory regime on GMs. It applies to the whole of the EU, not just the UK."

The development was widely welcomed by Westcountry campaigners who were critical of Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett's decision last month to approved herbicide-tolerant maize but reject GM beet and oilseed rape.

Totnes-based anti-GM campaigner Robert Vint described the announcement as "a major victory".

He said: "This was going to be the Trojan horse crop which would have forced GM crops into Britain. The abandonment of this crop means no crop is likely to be submitted for approval in Europe until 2008. This decision sends a very clear message across the world."

"This is very welcome news," said Mike Birkin, Westcountry spokesman for Friends of the Earth. "This GM maize had serious question marks about its safety and performance and should never have been given UK approval.

"The Government must now abandon this dangerous and unpopular technology and concentrate on protecting our food, farming and environment from GM contamination and put real effort into genuinely sustainable agriculture."

Lib-Dem shadow rural affairs spokesman Andrew George said biotechnology companies clearly "wanted the profit but not the problems from GM crops".

"Bayer admits that having vital systems to protect consumers, farmers and the environment would mean GM crops simply aren't worth the trouble," the MP for St Ives added.

"It also shows that the Government's decision to go ahead with Chardon LL was ill-judged. It gave only conditional approval for the next two years – implying that there may be problems with the crop.

"Bayer's decision now gives ministers time to get it right on GMs, having so far got it so wrong. New research on scientific gaps must be commissioned while the Government consults properly with all parties."

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