French GMO saboteurs severely fined

Three French farmers who broke into a grain storage depot and destroyed stocks of genetically modified maize in protest at government approval for its cultivation in France received suspended prison sentences and fines.  Novartis, which owned the maize, was awarded FFr500,000 (US$83,300) in compensation. 
    The modified maize has been at the centre of European debate over the use of genetic technologies in agriculture for over a year, with Austria and Luxembourg maintaining national import bans despite EU marketing approval given in December 1996.
    Genetically modified to resist attack by the European corn borer through the addition of the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) bacterial toxin gene, the Novartis maize is also herbicide resistant.
    Though a guilty verdict was never in doubt, the case has sparked broader discussions in France over the risks and benefits of using genetically modified crops (GMOs) in agriculture. 

ENDS Daily; and Confédération Paysanne, press release, 18 February 1998.

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 39, March 1998, page 16 ]