THE US chemical corporation, Monsanto, has withdrawn two of its three applications with the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out field trials on growing genetically modified sugar beet in Ireland.
The company said it would outline its position shortly, while the Green Party claimed the move was in response to environmental concerns. The two notifications, as they are officially known, were withdrawn last week.
This followed correspondence between the EPA and Monsanto about the process, which involves growing beet genetically resistant to its well known herbicide, glyphosate, which is traded as Roundup.
The EPA over the past month has sought clarification on aspects of the process, which proposed trials on privately owned farms in east Co Cork and in Co Kilkenny, and at Teagasc's research farm in Oakpark, Co Carlow. These were the first applications to produce food containing a genetically modified organism (GMO) in this country, though the crop has been grown elsewhere in the EU.
According to a spokesman for the EPA, Monsanto requested confidentiality on the names of farms to be used in Cork and Kilkenny. "The board of the EPA did not accede to the request. The notifications were then withdrawn." He declined to comment further on why there was a withdrawal at this point.
