Insect-resistant maize likely second GM crop in Europe

EU politicians signed a new law on growing genetically modified (GM) crops in the European Union, clearing the way for new strains to be approved after years of deadlock.

One of the first crops to get European Commission endorsement is likely to be an insect-resistant maize known as 1507, whose developers DuPont and Dow Chemical have been waiting 14 years for the EU executive to authorise its cultivation in the bloc.

Widely-grown in the Americas and Asia, GM crops in Europe have divided opinion. Britain is in favour of them, while France is among the countries that opposes them.

An earlier attempt to reach a compromise on GM cultivation failed in 2012, when EU ministers were unable to agree.

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The new compromise seeks to keep everyone happy by giving member states the right to ban GM crops even after they have been approved by the European Commission.

So far, Monsanto’s maize MON810 is the only GM crop grown in Europe, where it has been cultivated in Spain and Portugal for a decade.

Read full original article: UPDATE 1-EU law breaks deadlock on GM crops