Argentina finds and destroys illegal GM seeds

Reuters 9may01

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Argentine agriculture officials destroyed a batch of unapproved genetically-modified seeds and began an investigation to determine who was responsible for distributing them, the Agriculture Department said in a statement Wednesday.

"Having detected unauthorized genetically-modified crops and seeds, the Agriculture Department dedicated itself to locating and destroying the materials," the statement said without giving any more details.

Argentina is one of the world's biggest users of genetically-modified products, which must be approved for use by the government.

Argentina has been studying the use of genetically modified Roundup Ready (RR) corn, but has yet to approve it.

The seed is genetically engineered to be resistant to the "Roundup" brand herbicide glyphosate so that farmers can eliminate weeds in fields without harming their crop.

After passing field and toxicity tests, the government held up approval of RR corn on concern it would hurt exports to Europe, especially to Spain and Portugal, where the country sent 1.75 million tonnes of the grain in 1999/2000.

According to the government, this strategy helped Argentina wrest market share from the United States, where RR corn is approved.

RR soybean seeds made by U.S.-based biotechnology company Monsanto (MON) have been approved for use in Argentina since the 1996/1997 campaign and account for nearly 90 percent of the 10.43 million hectares sown with soy