A Taste of Wellness for Savoury and Snacks
Givaudan
The French minister for agriculture, food, fisheries and rural affairs, Hervé Gaymard, in a joint statement with the minister for ecology, Serge Lepeltier and the deputy minister for research, François d'Aubert, explained that the experiments were part of France's regular research programme.
"The field trials are aimed at observing the new strains behaviour in real conditions," said the statement.
The decision follows an online public consultation carried out between 10 and 24 May. According to the CORDIS report, the French government has been allowing GM crop trials for several years, but they regularly prompt demonstrations from opponents to the new technology who are concerned about potential cross-contamination with conventional crops.
Aware of the strong public opinion on the issue, the French state submitted the eight trial requests from Monsanto, Pioneer, Biogemma and French GM research laboratory Geves to consultation before approval. The website received 2700 emails, generally giving a negative opinion on the testing.
Green representatives, various regional councils and the anti-GM group, the Confédération paysanne, also voiced their opposition. Despite this, the three ministries have agreed to go ahead and authorise the trials.