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Biotech / Medical : Monsanto Co. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1061)	2/3/1999 10:54:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

U.K. Farmers to Sow First Biotech Crops in 2000, Minister Says Bloomberg News February 3, 1999, 9:23 a.m. ET U.K. Farmers to Sow First Biotech Crops in 2000, Minister Says London, Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. farmers will start commercial planting of genetically modified crops next year, though their use will be limited until their impact on the environment can be assessed, the U.K.'s farm minister said. Many European Union environmental and consumer groups are opposed to the introduction of genetically modified foods that they say may harm the environment and human health. Several EU governments already restrict the use of genetically engineered seeds developed by companies such as U.S.-based Monsanto Co. and Novartis AG of Switzerland. ''My understanding is the first commercial planting of GM crops are likely in 2000,'' Nick Brown, the U.K.'s agriculture minister, told the National Farmers' Union conference in London today. Oilseed rape, corn and fodder beet will probably be the first genetically modified crops grown commercially in Britain, he said. U.K. frozen food retailer Iceland Plc said last year that none of the own-brand lines sold in its 77 stores will contain genetically modified foodstuffs because of concern over their safety. Yesterday, U.K. food safety minister Jeff Rooker told the conference that the government will closely monitor the sale of genetically modified foods in British supermarkets, ''to ensure that no problems arise in the future.'' About 60 percent of all processed foods contain soybeans and an increasing amount of the world's soybean production is now genetically modified. Rules approved by European agriculture ministers in May require food manufacturers to test foodstuffs for the presence of genetically modified material before placing them on the market. Foods have to carry a label stating either that they contain or don't contain DNA different from conventional foods. --Dudley White in the London newsroom (44) 171-330-7126/jac