munich

The environment minister of the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein is leading opposition to two planned field trials of genetically modified crops in the state. The minister, Rainder Steenblock, says he wants changes in federal law to give the 16 Länder (states) direct participation in the approval of such trials.

Steenblock's intervention is significant because he is a Green Party minister in a state administration governed by a ‘Red-Green’ coalition between his party and the Social Democrats. A similar coalition might take control of the federal government in next month's general election, and may then put its weight behind the popular opposition in Europe to the introduction of genetically modified crops.

The field trials, which are being carried out by the German company AgrEvo, involve Brassica napus, a species of transgenic rape. They were approved last month by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Berlin, which is responsible for approving such trials throughout Germany.

Steenblock's objections are based on alleged concerns that the transgenes in AgrEvo's rape could be transferred to related crops and weeds, causing ecological problems. He criticizes the RKI for approving the trials without insisting on safety measures, and complains that it adopted a simplified approval procedure for AgrEvo, with no public inquiry, on the grounds that the company is already running similar trials in Lower Saxony.

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He cites a case that occurred last spring in the state, in which a genetically modified aspen tree began to bud in its third year of growth, instead of its seventh year as is usual. Had the tree bloomed, he says, it would have presented a serious safety problem because the transgene concerned causes stunted growth. RKI's approval of the trial was contingent on the understanding that the trees would not be allowed to cross-pollinate. “This shows how unpredictable genetic engineering can be,” says Steenblock.

It is unlikely that the RKI will accept Steenblock's demand for additional safety conditions for trials, however. Ulrich Ehlers, head of the registration office for genetic engineering at the RKI, says the federal authorities were convinced that the experiments were safe.

Even so, AgrEvo is unlikely to avoid a confrontation with Schleswig-Holstein. “If we want to sell these seeds in Schleswig-Holstein, we have to test them there,” says a company spokesman.