GM giant abandons bid to grow crops in Britain

The Independent , 31.03.2004 10:02

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In a huge blow to the genetically modified food lobby, Bayer
Cropscience has
given up attempts to grow commercial GM maize in Britain.

The decision, blamed by the company on government restrictions, means
no GM
crop will be grown commercially in the UK in 2005 and raises
questions about
the future of GM in this country.

The German biotechnology company will announce today that its maize
variety
Chardon LL, which was to be developed as cattle feed, had been left
"economically non-viable" because of conditions set by the
Environment
Secretary Margaret Beckett when she gave limited approval to the
growing of
the crop this month.

A spokesman for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs
said last night: "We do not apologise for the fact there is a
tough EU-wide
regulatory regime on GMs. This is a commercial decision made by Bayer
and
they have decided to withdraw their application, [which means] there
will not
be any commercial cultivation of GM crops in 2005 in the UK.

"In the current climate in the EU, with member states' strong
views on these
matters, there's little prospect of any GM crops coming forward for
consideration in the near future. We always said it would be for the
market
to decide [the future of GM]."

There were suggestions last night that GM crops were unlikely to be
grown in
the UK until 2008, when GM oil seed rape may be approved for
cultivation.

Bayer's decision will be seen as a huge win for the former environment
minister Michael Meacher and green groups.

Chardon LL, which Bayer had wanted to commercially grow, was
developed for
approval in 1999. It is already grown in the Netherlands.

A Bayer spokesman confirmed the imminent withdrawal of its
application to
grow in the UK last night. The company told The Financial Times the
UK's
tough GM regulatory regime could jeopardise the industry. It said:
"New
regulations should enable GM crops to be grown in the UK - not
disable
future attempts to grow them."

Chardon LL gained approval after trials showed it caused less damage
to
wildlife than its conventional equivalent, but ministers have not yet
decided
rules for mixing GM and non-GM crops and what compensation might be
paid for
contamination by GM pollen.

Bayer said: "These uncertainties and undefined timelines will
make this
five-year-old variety economically unviable."

Only three weeks ago in parliament, Ms Beckett controversially
announced her
decision to allow Bayer to go ahead with its maize project. The
decision came
after 15 years of field trials and four years of farm-scale
evaluations.

Ms Beckett told the Commons the GM maize could be grown as soon as
next year
and said non-GM farmers who suffered financial losses because of crop
contamination would be compensated by the industry, not the taxpayer.

At the time, Mr Meacher said: "This is the wrong decision. It is
driven by
the commercial interests of the big biotech companies and, no doubt,
pressure from the White House."