massive public protests spur france to ban monsanto's MON810 gmo corn

[xchrom]

http://www.nationofchange.org/massive-public-protests-spur-france-ban-plantings-monsanto-s-mon810-gmo-corn-1333290394

On the heels of ongoing, massive protests against genetically modified organisms (GMOs), French agricultural officials have announced that plantings of Monsanto's MON810 GM corn, which contains built-in Bt toxin, will no longer be permitted within France. Reports explain that the moratorium is only temporary, but since there is no indication that opposition to the "Frankencorn" will cease anytime soon, the ban could last indefinitely.

Last November, French authorities lifted a longtime ban that prohibited French farmers from planting MON810, a move that spurred nationwide backlash and protest. But less than six months later, the voices of the people have spoken so loudly that the ban has now been reinstated as a "precautionary measure" in order to "protect the environment."

"Due to the proximity of the planting season [authorities have] decided to take a precautionary measure to temporarily prohibit the cultivation of maize MON810 on the national territory to protect the environment," said a press release issued by French Agricultural Minister Bruno Le Maire and Minister for Ecology and Sustainable Development Francois Fillon.

Back in 2010, Germany also banned Monsanto's MON810 for the same environmental and health reasons. And Austria, Hungary, and Luxembourg, and of course France have all individually banned MON810 as well, despite the fact that the European Union approved its cultivation within EU borders back in 1998

[lunasun]

1. wish it would happen here -USA-OR AT least label it be law

good for them
bad be us

[LiberalEsto]

2. K&R

People in the U.S. are way too ignorant of all the poisons manufactured by Monsatan and other agri-chem companies.
The corporate-owned media writes as little as possible about this issue, and when it does write something, it's all PR and pap.

Last week the Washington Post finally write about the hazard posed by neonicotinoid pesticides to honeybee populations. The Post article appeared about two weeks after it was reported in the less- or non-corporate media. (Probably because it had to be watered down for Americans). The Post article said NOTHING about the commercial names of these pesticides or how people can avoid buying and using them. It also failed to mention that these pesticides are banned in France and other countries.

Buried deep in the Post story was the following:
"Reflecting the heightening concern, beekeepers working with the Center for Food Safety sued the EPA this month over the agency’s handling of a particular drug in that class, clothianidin. The suit was accompanied by a petition signed by more than 1 million people asking that the pesticide be banned."

You'd think it would be significant news that beekeepers are suing the EPA over one of these chemicals, and that more than a million people have signed a petition seeking a ban on it. But the corporate media doesn't want the average American to be aware of such things, and people generally skim headlines and don't go deeper into stories like this.
(Disclosure - I was a newspaper journalist for more than 25 years and I know how they operate).

The article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/new-bee-research-details-harm-from-insecticide/2012/03/29/gIQAZrnGjS_story_1.html

[IDemo]

3. This got the predictable US reaction the first time around

US Ambassador Planned "Retaliation" Against France Over Ban on Monsanto Corn

Tuesday 21 December 2010
by: Mike Ludwig, t r u t h o u t | Report

The former United States ambassador to France suggested "moving to retaliation" against France and the European Union (EU) in late 2007 to fight a French ban on Monsanto's genetically modified (GM) corn and changes in European policy toward biotech crops, according to a cable released by WikiLeaks on Sunday.

Former Ambassador Craig Stapleton was concerned about France's decision to suspend cultivation of Monsanto's MON-810 corn and warned that a new French environmental review standard could spread anti-biotech policy across the EU.

"Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits," Stapleton wrote to diplomatic colleagues.

http://archive.truthout.org/wikileaks-us-ambassador-planned-retaliation-against-france-over-ban-monsanto-corn66131