One new potato

As the northern hemisphere growing season gets under way, hundreds of thousands of hectares will be planted with a variety of genetically modified crops, but not in Europe: the European Commission has just granted permission for the planting of a GM variety of potato, bringing the number of allowed crops to two but many individual states will still resist them. And the potatoes will not be for human consumption. The starch of the new GM Amflora potato developed by the German biotechnology company, BASF, will be used for industrial purposes such as making paper, and for animal feed. Europe's opposition to GM crops has been substantial and environmental groups have been strongly opposed to the new potato but the European Commission insisted its decision was based on a 'considerable volume of sound science'. BASF says: " Amflora starch can be used in many different ways. It makes yarns stronger and paper glossier, it also makes spray concrete adhere better to the wall and keeps glue liquid for longer. " But the GM potato contains genes that confer resistance to antibiotics. And BASF have fought a 13-year battle with the European Commission to get agreement to grow the plants. During this time the EU's pharmaceutical regulator expressed concern about its potential to interfere with the efficacy of antibiotics in infections that develop multiple resistance to other antibiotics, a growing problem in human and veterinary medicine. Critics say the potato produces an enzyme which generally confers resistance to several antibiotics including kanamycin, neomycin, butirosin and gentamicin. Individual EU states have the right to block the planting in their own countries and it expected to be grown only in Germany and the Czech Republic this season. Italy said it objected to the commission's decision and Friends of the Earth said that it could not be guaranteed that the gene conferring antibiotic resistance would not enter the food chain. Several countries remain firmly opposed to the cultivation of GM crops, arguing that they could eventually reduce biodiversity and natural resistance to pests and disease, and that it is hard to stop them cross-pollinating with non-GM crops. The commission said it was imposing strict conditions on the cultivation of Amflora to address some of the environmental concerns. For instance, " the potato will be harvested before it produces seeds. " The only other GM product currently grown commercially in the EU is Monsanto's maize, grown …