Amflora potatoes planted in Germany

(22 April 2010) On a 15-hectare field in Zepkow, Germany (county Mueritz in the state of Mecklenburg-Lower Pomerania), genetically modified (GM) Amflora potatoes were planted on 19.04.2010. Gene-technology opponents have called upon the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Ilse Aigner (CSU), to prohibit the cultivation of this potato in Germany.

The EU Commission issued approval at the beginning for March for the cultivation of the Amflora potato, which provides starch for industrial purposes. Since then, the field in Zepkow is the sole area in Germany upon which genetically modified crops have been planted in 2010.

Gene-technology opponents also have concentrated their protest on the Amflora field. After the blockage by Greenpeace activists of a storehouse containing seed potatoes at the company farm in question, planting was carried out under police protection. As stated by a spokesperson for BASF Plant Science, the field is now secured by guard personnel.

Environmental associations and the political opposition in Germany have called upon Minister Aigner to suspend the EU approval and prohibit thereby the cultivation of Amflora, as already was done in Austria. However, German representation in the EU Council of Ministers voted for cultivation approval. On her internet platform, Minister Aigner cites the appraisal of the responsible bureau, according to which, "no safety concerns exist."

Till Backhaus (SPD), State Minister for Agriculture in Mecklenburg-Lower Pomerania, also disagrees with the cultivation of Amflora. In a letter to Federal Minister Aigner, he argues that no concrete cultivation guidelines are available. Minister Backhaus states that the regulations issues by the EU Commission are "too hazy" and "of no use for the monitoring of cultivation".

In the approval decision, the EU Commission determined that no conventional potatoes may be planted on an Amflora field in the following year. Furthermore, Amflora fields must be checked for ‘secondary growth’, i.e. for leftover potatoes from the previous year. BASF is obliged to provide Amflora only to specified manufacturers who agree contractually to the spatial separation of Amflora production from that of conventional potatoes. This separation applies from the storage of seed potatoes to the industrial processing of their starch.

Since 2008 in Germany, an additional regulation has been in effect that establishes general rules to guarantee the ‘co-existence’ of agricultural systems ‘with…’ and ‘without gene technology’. Since then, additional, special rules have become applicable to maize. To date, such rules do not exist for potatoes.

More at GMO Compass:

• EU Commission approves planting of Amflora potatoes (02.03.2010)
• Amylose, Amylopectin

Further information:

• Amflora (BASF)
• Germany Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV): "Questions and Answers on Amflora" (in German)
• Food Safety Evaluation: Why marker genes?