BERLIN (AFP)--U.S. biotechnology company Monsanto Co. (MON) lost
a court battle Tuesday against a move by Germany to outlaw a type
of genetically modified maize manufactured by the firm seen as a
danger to the environment.
The administrative court in the central city of Brunswick denied
the company an emergency injunction against the ban on MON 810
maize, which Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner introduced last month
on environmental grounds.
The court said the government had presented enough evidence that
the maize - modified to be super resistant to crop-destroying
insects - "poses a risk as laid out in genetic technology law."
It said Berlin was under no obligation to provide definitive
scientific proof of a danger to the environment to justify
outlawing the crop.
Aigner said recent studies indicated that MON 810 not only
produced a substance toxic to predators but also to other insects
and that the plant's pollen spread further than originally
thought.
Monsanto called Aigner's policy a "capricious ban" with no
scientific basis and said it was reviewing whether to appeal the
decision to a higher court.
It has argued that the safety of MON 810 has been demonstrated
by the U.S., Japan, Canada and the European Commission.