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François Hollande confirmed Friday an extension of the moratorium on the cultivation of Monsanto’s GM maize MON810, despite the cancellation yesterday by the Council of State [Conseil d’Etat, a body of the French national government that acts as legal adviser of the executive branch and as the supreme court of administrative justice] of the ban on growing this GM maize.
Source: GM: Hollande confirms the extension of the moratorium on transgenic maize
AFP, 2 Aug 2013
GMWatch translation from the French original
“There will be an extension of the moratorium,” said the head of state, during a visit to the Dordogne, adding that it was necessary, however, to “legally secure this decision at the national level and especially at the European level”.
“Why did we impose the moratorium on GMOs? Not because we do not want progress, but in the name of progress. We cannot accept a maize product that may have adverse effects on other [agricultural] production,” continued François Hollande, speaking from a farm in the region of Sarlat.
On Thursday the Council of State annulled France’s ban on the cultivation of GM maize MON810 from the US firm Monsanto.
After the announcement of the [court] ruling of non-compliance with EU law, the Ministers of Agriculture and Ecology, Stéphane Le Foll and Philippe Martin had, however, noted “the government’s commitment (to) maintain the moratorium on the cultivation of GMO seeds.”
I would have assumed that a government has the right to ban GE agriculture purely on the basis that the seeds are patented and this creates an unjust reliance on the farmer. Also that the likely hood that the GE genes will spread into organic crops is high because that’s how nature works. Genes spread through pollination.
Are the problems that we can see with our eyes not enough?
Such as the problems happening in India with GM cotton with poor farmers suffering, animals dying after grazing on the cotton leaves as the traditionally do and farmers protesting against the GM cottom.
http://www.france24.com/en/20130705-wb-en-reporters-india-transgenic-cotton-fields-monsanto-farmers-maharastra-state?page=1
Or weed resistance reported by the BBC illustrating a failing technology destined to be defeated by the evolution of nature.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19594335
Rootworm resistance:
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2013/05/29/gm-resistant-rootworms-and-the-future-of-farming/
Or academic studies from Kansas and Wisconsin state University the Ht corn and Soy technology suffers from 5-10% yield drag because the creation of the new proteins requires energy and data from USDA do not showing increasing yields.
So GE technologies although showing promise in the early days are increasingly failing to work effectively, while making farmers dependent through a dominant market share and legal agreements to plant patented seeds.
Dr. Thierry Vrain, formerly Head of Biotechnology @ Agriculture Canada’s Summerland Research Station, now an organic famer was once a supporter of GMO is now sharing his logical researched understanding of why the science behind genetic engineering is flawed in his recent Ted talk entitled The Gene Revolution, The Future of Agriculture: He explains for example that inserting genes into dna creates potentially allergenic rogue proteins that are not desired. Even the FDA’s scientist suggested this would occur but the FDA appointed managers disregarded this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQkQXyiynYs
It may be that people are not hearing the messages from scientists like Dr Vrain because the media is often owned by investors who in invest in the chemical companies that own GR technologies.
Canadians are going to the length of signing a petition to get Dr vrain interviewed.
http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/petition-cbc-news-the-national-to-interview-dr-thierry-vrain-regarding-gmo-the-future-of-agriculture
thank God someone cares about the health of people….
Fantastic. How refreshing to have an intelligent and caring president who will not comply with the assasins and psychopaths that rule companies like MOnsanto, Singenta,Pioneer, Dupont, etc. who only care abouyt profit not understanding they are killing themselves.
It takes courage for any head of state to stand up against Monsanto or any of these multi-billion, multi-national corporations. “He’s going to make himself a lot of enemies.”… Corporate enemies maybe, but he’s made a friend with the People; the People are who you want as a friend.
So should we expect a sudden CIA finance colour revolution in France?
That`s really great! 🙂
The French president has a backbone…and he probably has children…that he loves!
The United States of America started out as a Limited Democratic Constitutional Republic. Now it is an Oligarchal Corporatist State/Police State. Roadside internal body cavity searches, no-knock SWAT Team Police raids. BHO and the globalists want to take away guns form the people, by any means necessary.