On 02/03/2012 02:00 PM, nablusoss1008 wrote: > GM giant quits Britain amid backlash > by DUNCAN GARDHAM, Daily Mail > > * Comments (0) > <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-199884/GM-giant-quits-Britain-a\ > mid-backlash.html#comments> > * Add to My Stories > <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-199884/GM-giant-quits-Britain-a\ > mid-backlash.html> > > 16/10/2003 08:56:45 > > > The giant bio-tech firm Monsanto yesterday announced a major withdrawal > from the UK amid intense opposition to genetically modified foods. > > The company, the leading multinational behind the production of GM > crops, is closing its wheat growing operation, based in Cambridge. > > Officials said the move was partly due to the opposition to GM crops > which has inspired the Daily Mail's campaign against so-called > "Frankenstein Foods". > > Monsanto is also seeking to sell off crop-breeding centres in France, > Germany and the Czech Republic. > > The move was widely seen as an indication that the company has given up > hopes of introducing GM crops to Europe. > > Pete Riley, of Friends of the Earth, said last night: "If they are > pulling out, we should rejoice." > > Monsanto's decision was made public on the eve of the Government's final > announcement on the prospects for GM crop cultivation here. > > Earlier this week it was revealed that the Government's own research had > found that GM farming would pollute the countryside for generations. > > Monsanto's Cambridge unit employed 125 people developing hybrid wheat > varieties for the European market. > > The company bought the former Government Plant Breeding Institute from > Unilever in 1998, declaring that GM crops would be established within > five years. > > But a Monsanto spokesman said last night the expected business had > "never materialised". Last month, Bayer CropScience pulled the plug on > UK field trials, leaving just one company, Syngenta, actively pursuing > GM here. > > The results of the Government research had been wdely seen as dealing a > bodyblow to supporters of GM crops. > > Disturbing figures came from three separate studies conducted on behalf > of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. > > They showed that pollen contamination would spread far further than > previously thought and "feral" growth of weed killer -proof plants from > just one crop would persist for years. > > At the same time, the heavy use of chemicals associated with the crops > could wipe out some bird species. > > The warnings followed the massive public suspicion of GM crops revealed > by the Government's own national consultation. > > In an initiative involving hundreds of public meetings and 37,000 > questionnaires, 93 per cent of respondents said not enough was known > about the long-term effects of GM foods on health, while 86 per cent > said they would not eat it. > > Concern about pollution of organic and other farms was mentioned by 95 > per cent, while 93 per cent said GM technology was driven more by profit > than public interest. > > There has also been concern over the close relationship between the > Labour Government and Monsanto. > > David Hill, Tony Blair's new spin doctor, is a former adviser to > Monsanto and Science Minister Lord Sainsbury holds a stake in a firm > linked to Monsanto, which is handled by a blind trust. > > The GM row in Europe has escalated recently, with comments from EU > environment commissioner Margaret Wallstrom that GM companies were lying > and trying to force unsuitable crops on European farmland. > > The EU has been operating what is effectively a moratorium on GM crops, > but has come under intense pressure from the US to allow them. > > Monsanto described the Cambridge closure as part of a global corporate > restructuring. > > It will continue to promote its crop protection products here but is > expected to focus its GM aspirations in China, South East Asia and South > America. > > > Read more: > http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-199884/GM-giant-quits-Britain-am\ > id-backlash.html#ixzz1lMILafP7 > <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-199884/GM-giant-quits-Britain-a\ > mid-backlash.html#ixzz1lMILafP7>
Now we need to boot them out of the US.
