Germany has decided to ban a strain of genetically modified corn made by the Monsanto Company. The Berlin government is joining Austria and Hungary in a widening ban on genetically modified (GM) crops.

The German ban will apply to Monsanto’s MON810, a pest- resistant corn variety, Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner told reporters in Berlin on Tuesday.

“My decision is not a political decision, it’s a decision based on the facts,” Aigner said.

European Union governments upheld similar Austrian and Hungarian bans last month in a blow to the European Commission, the EU’s regulatory arm, which says the bans are unjustified because scientists have determined the two products are safe for consumers and the environment.

No one was available from the Commission’s environment department to answer questions today.

In a case brought by the U.S., Canada and Argentina, the World Trade Organization ruled in 2006 that a European Union ban on new gene-altered products from 1998 to 2004 was illegal.

The U.S. has since voiced concern about continued European market barriers. Under WTO rules, President Barack Obama’s administration has the right to seek retaliatory measures.

About Turn

The German decision, which still needs to be approved by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinet, is a turnaround from legislation passed in January last year making it easier for farmers to sow genetically altered corn.

Horst Seehofer, who was then agriculture minister, said at the time his decision was meant to help Germany’s biotechnology industry. Yet the legislation passed was criticized by green lobbies as well as Monsanto, which said it failed to remove hurdles for farmers wanting to plant the crop.

Green lobbies and consumer groups welcomed today’s announcement, citing surveys showing that more than 70 percent of consumers oppose the use of GM crops for food.

“This decision is right, if long overdue,” Stephanie Toewe, Greenpeace spokeswoman on biotechnology, said in a statement. Numerous studies show GM corn to be harmful to the environment, Toewe said, urging Aigner to persuade the EU in Brussels to outlaw similar genetically modified corn varieties.

Aigner – a member of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria where GM crops are intensely unpopular –was encouraged by many of her party members to go through with the ban.

Meanwhile Monsanto spokesperson Andreas Thierfelder said the company would review possibilities to appeal the ban, adding that the company stands to lose millions if the corn can't be planted this spring.

wire services/germerica