ARCANE legal wrangling is delaying what could be a ground-breaking decision: the UK’s first approval of a genetically modified crop for commercial planting.
A government advisory committee reported last month that there were no environmental grounds for not approving Bayer’s Chardon LL maize, which is resistant to the weedkiller glufosinate ammonium. The next step is for it to be listed as an approved variety by all four countries of the United Kingdom. But the devolved authorities that govern Wales and Scotland are uneasy about approving it. “We are currently consulting with the devolved authorities to find a way forward,” says a spokesman for the UK’s environment ministry.
The Welsh Assembly, which is openly hostile to GM crops, says it is still considering the advisory committee’s report. But it only has authority to ban a crop if it threatens the environment or human health. “If it’s just based on the assumption that they don’t want GM crops, I’m not sure it would hold water under European Union law,” says the environment ministry spokesman.
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