Amflora

In 2007, the GM potato Amflora was cultivated on nearly 450 ha in Germany. The goal of the “field trial” as to produce seed potatoes just in case Amflora would be allowed for commercial cultivation. But another result now becomes quite obvious: GM potatoes cannot be kept under control and they cannot be cleared off the field completely. In summer 2008, despite repeated controls Amflora potatoes are happily growing on the field.

In July 2008, BASF filed a case with the European Court in Luxembourg stating that the European Commission failed to act on the approval of Amflora.
In September 2008, the company followed this by the threat that BASF would stop its development of GM crops in Europe unless the approval would be given soon.

In 2007 and 2008, the German authorities approved of 'field-trials' with the GM potato Amflora by BASF even though the goal was/is not to do any research but simply to produce seed potatoes for the case that Amflora actually gets a cultivation approval in the EU. One of the conditions was that no potatoes would be left on the field afterwards. Already in autumn 2007, a number of potatoes were discovered on one of the fields after the harvest. Now, a season later, it is quite obvious that GM potatoes cannot be contained: As the newspaper taz reported the field is now planted with maize - and among that a number of potato plants can be found.
The new condition from the German authorities: spray the field again with herbicides once the maize is harvested. So instead of a field trial that left no potatoes on the field after harvests, we now end up with at least two additional applications of herbicides (and possibly more to come), wild boar feeding on left over potatoes in winter 2007, and a representative from BASF that simply states: "Of course there will be potatoes on the field in the next season."
Now this was a field trial on a few fields with a lot of public attention. How will things develop if Amflora were to be cultivated commericially?

On Wednesday, 7 May 2008, the EU Commission refered three GM crops back to the EFSA: the GM starch potato Amflora and the two Bt maize events Bt11 and 1507. Environmental Commissioner Dimas had already announced earlier that he would propose to reject the two Bt maize. Referring the cses back to the EFSA atthis stage might be an historic step, but unfortunately it is not to be expected that the EFSA GMO Panel will now change its mind, so in the long run the issue of GM cultivation willstill need tobe resolved where it belongs: in the political arena.

On 6 March, BASF announced that there would be no commercial cultivation of the GM potatoe Amflora - while a few weeks ago the company with acting as if getting the required aproval for planting was immanent.

On Monday in the meeting of agricultural ministers, Germany voted against a cultivation approval for the GM starch potato Amflora.
Rumour now has it that Germany is also willing to enforce the safeguard clause 23 against its cultivation in Germany if the EU Commission now gives its approval.

On 10 October 2007, the EU standing committee on GMOs came up with a decision that takes some time to digest - literally.

The good news is that yesterday, the EU Agricultural Minister meeting failed to give approval for the cultivation of BASF's GM starch potato Amflora. 10 years along the line of the de-facto moratorium against GM crops and still there is no new approval given for cultivation. The bad news is that once again, there was no qualified majority to reject it and the decision now lies with the EU Commission who is likely to approve of it.

Just two weeks ago, the EU environmental ministers postponed their decision on the cultivation of BASF's GM starch potato Amflora. Instead the decision has now been put on the agenda of the agricultural ministers this coming Monday. It appears that the EU Commission is determined to get this GM potato approved, and also to get the first cultivation approval since 1998 and the moratorium.

BASF's GM potato Amflora is now referred to the European Medicines Agency because according to WHO information the antibiotic resistance relates to a group of antibiotics that are much more widely used then assumed by the EFSA.