GM crop trial changes

Europe has been much more cautious about the introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops than many other countries in the world. But this year it has granted permission to grow a genetically modified potato and also to allow into the market three types of GM maize. The potato, called Amflora and developed by the company BASF in Ludwigshafen, Germany, has been the first GM crop to be approved in 12 years. The maize crops were given approval for sale for food and animal feed purposes, although not for cultivation. The decision comes at a time of a new government in the UK, following on from one that was supportive of opposition to GM crops. They agreed to publish the details of GM crop trials which led to many sites being trashed by protesters who also won much valued publicity against the " Frankenstein crops ". Britain's new environment secretary, Caroline Spelman, in her first interview in her new post in charge of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, committed the government to become the most pro-GM yet, saying she was in favour of GM foods in the right circumstances. " GM can bring benefits in food to the marketplace, " said Spelman. Backing the new BASF potato, which has been engineered to be of increased resistance to the fungal disease blight, she said that it might reduce the amount of agro-chemicals that need to be applied. " There are benefits to developing countries, like drought resistance or resistance to high salt content in water, " she said. The principle of GM technology is sound if used well, she said. But new evidence surrounding one of the most commercial GM modifications — Monsanto's corn, soybean and cotton that are resistant to the herbicide News focus Roundup — reveals that it appears now to be encountering a new series of weeds that are resistant to the herbicide. The modification was created so that crop plants could be sprayed with the herbicide, without affect to them, but killing weeds within the fields. New evidence, reported in the Wall Street Journal last month, suggests that several major weeds of crop fields are developing resistance to Roundup in the US. " At least nine species have developed immunity to it, " the newspaper reports. " They've spread to millions of hectares in more than 20 states in the Midwest and South, " it …