Court upholds GM legislation on crop separation


25 Nov 2010

The law dictating that a protective zone between genetically modified (GM) crops and standard farmland has been upheld in a German court recently, saying the GM technology posed a contamination risk.

The law dictates that a 150-metre wide protective zone must exist between GM crops and standard farmland and a 200-metre wide gap next to organic crops must exist.

The Federal Constitutional Court said that by upholding the 2008 legislation it was protecting the public from the risks of technology and made its decision against the backdrop of the social and scientific debate over genetic engineering, according to Yahoo! News.

Environmental watchdog Greenpeace has welcomed the court’s decision, calling GM technology “a risk” that should not be forced on anyone.