Greenpeace Forces France to U-Turn on GE Maize

["greenbase" <greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org>]

Greenpeace forces France to U-turn on GE  maize 

Paris, 25 September 1998 Greenpeace welcomes the decision of the
French  Council of State, the countryÆs highest administrative
court, to repeal the  governmental permit for growing of
Novartis Bt-maize in France. Greenpeace  demands that the French
government suspends the licence of Novartis transgenic Bt-maize
and reclaims the maize from French fields before it enters the
food chain. 

"The legal and political implications of this decision are
immense," said Arnaud  Apoteker of Greenpeace. "There is about
1,500 hectares of Novartis transgenic  maize growing in France
which will have to reclaimed before it enters the food  chain.
The French government has an obligation to act now."


According to the Council the original Novartis application
dossier was incomplete as  it did not contain information which
would allow the assessment of the long term  effects of the
antibiotic resistance gene of the transgenic maize on human 
health.  This lack of information justifies precautionary action
and the immediate suspension  of the growing permit.


"The European Commission approved the Novartis maize against the
wishes of the  majority of EU Member states. The French
government approved it against the  advice of its Committee on
Prevention and Precaution. It should never have entered  the
European markets in the first place," said Apoteker.


Last February Greenpeace sued the French government over its
decision to allow  the growing of Novartis genetically
engineered maize, and called for emergency  action by the
Council of State to repeal the growing permit. The opinion of
the  representative of the State of France issued a week ago
said the government had  followed the correct procedure. However
today the counsil has ruled in favour of  Greenpeace. 


"It is not customary to the counsil to rule against the opinion
of the State. This high  lights how inadequate the original
approval was," said Apoteker. 

Greenpeace has filed a similar legal complaint against Novartis
in Germany for  introducing its Bt-maize into the environment
without having all required  authorisation. "Novartis Bt-maize
has not gone through the proper pesticide  registration process
even though it acts like one," said Greenpeace campaigner Jan 
van Aken. "We consider the selling of this maize for growing an
illegal act."


Note to editor:

Novartis Bt maize contains three foreign genes: a synthetic gene
derived from the  soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis; genes
providing resistance against an antibiotic  Ampicillin and a
gene providing tolerance against the herbicide glufosinate. 


Greenpeace on the Internet : http://www.greenpeace.org