Highest courts in France and EU confirm France’s ban on GM crops is illegal
20/11/11 13:25
Source: EuropaBio
Brussels, 28 November 2011
Today, France’s highest court, the Conseil d’Etat, has confirmed that the European Court of Justice’s judgment that the 2008 French ban on the cultivation of genetically modified crops (GM) is illegal. Both courts overturned the national ban declaring that the French Government presented no scientific evidence of any risk to health or the environment from these crops.
A study by the EU’s Joint Research Centre showed that this maize increased farm income by up to €122 per hectare, led to higher average yields of 11.8% in an area of heavy insect pressure, and resulted in a reduction in insecticide costs by as much as €20.04 per hectare. Over the four year duration of the illegal French ban, farmers therefore potentially missed out on over €40 million of income and did not produce over 370,000 tons of maize that could have helped meet the needs of a hungry world.
Read more...
Brussels, 28 November 2011
Today, France’s highest court, the Conseil d’Etat, has confirmed that the European Court of Justice’s judgment that the 2008 French ban on the cultivation of genetically modified crops (GM) is illegal. Both courts overturned the national ban declaring that the French Government presented no scientific evidence of any risk to health or the environment from these crops.
A study by the EU’s Joint Research Centre showed that this maize increased farm income by up to €122 per hectare, led to higher average yields of 11.8% in an area of heavy insect pressure, and resulted in a reduction in insecticide costs by as much as €20.04 per hectare. Over the four year duration of the illegal French ban, farmers therefore potentially missed out on over €40 million of income and did not produce over 370,000 tons of maize that could have helped meet the needs of a hungry world.
Read more...