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April 22, 2009
We can confirm that
Monsanto has initiated
summary proceedings, through application to the Braunschweig
Administrative court, to challenge the implementation of
Minister Aiger’s arbitrary ban of MON 810 in Germany; a ban that
is not supported by any convincing scientific evidence which
could validate such a measure.
Monsanto will continue to support our farmer customers’ freedom
of choice to use approved and safe technologies to address the
needs of sustainable agriculture. Millions of farmers across the
globe have been cultivating MON810 for over a decade, and its
safety and benefits have been proven time and again.
MON 810 contributes to sustainable agriculture by delivering
clear economic, environmental and quality benefits: increased
yields and increased farmer revenues; less insecticide sprayings
and improved maize quality through lower levels of mycotoxins.
MON 810 is approved for cultivation and use in the EU. A
temporary suspension of the approval initiated by an EU Member
State based on the safeguard clause requires new scientific
evidence which questions the safety of a GM product. This is the
not the case, as no new scientific evidence has been brought
forward.
The studies that Minister Aigner references do not present any
new evidence of safety concerns that have not already been
reviewed by competent regulatory authorities who have all
confirmed the safety of the plants in question, adding to the
overwhelming body of evidence to this effect.
Relevant competent regulatory authorities worldwide, including
the EU, Japan, the US, Canada as well as the German regulatory
authority BVL, have repeatedly confirmed the safety of MON 810.
The EU-wide general authorization of MON 810 for cultivation,
import and use for food and feed production is not affected by
the ban. The ban has no impact on the use and sale of MON 810 in
any other country of the EU or elsewhere.
It is disappointing that Germany would now appear to be
abdicating its responsibility to use all available tools in a
sustainable manner to increase agricultural production,
especially at this time, during a global food crisis. |
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