GM maize gets EU’s nod
One of Monsanto's genetically-modified maize cobs
European regulators authorised on the import of six types of genetically-modified maize for use in animal feed after governments were deadlocked over whether to ban or approve them. The European Union has been divided for years over genetically-modified foods and the European Commission has proposed new rules aiming to break an impasse that has severely limited the cultivation of such crops. Agriculture ministers meeting last month in Luxembourg were unable to reach a qualified majority on maize from US biotech firms Monsanto and Pioneer, and Swiss company Syngenta to be used for feeding animals, not cultivation. Under European Union rules, the decision was passed on to the European Commission, which gave the six maize types the green light because they were scientifically sound, a commission spokesman said. Recently, the EU's executive arm proposed new rules that would give individual EU states the ultimate power to ban or grow genetically-modified crops. Source: AFP
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