GMO giant Monsanto has announced that it will no longer be pursuing plans to further expand the production of new biotechnology crops into the European market.
Monsanto currently has nine pending applications with the European Commission, eight of which the company plans to be withdraw, The Guardian reports.
Monsanto spokesperson Brandon Mitchener, said that the applications have remained stagnant for several years.
“There’s no end in sight… due to political obstructionism,” said Mitchener.
France, Germany, Austria and Spain have completely banned genetically modified crops and many other European nations remain sceptical of the alleged benefits.
Over two million people participated in a worldwide protest against the biotech giant in May this year, sighting the alleged dangers and environmental impacts of GM crops.
Adam Blight, from Monsanto Australia’s corporate affairs department told The Land that the despite the decision to pull the pending applications, the company will not be exiting out of Europe entirely.
“We will continue to focus on importing biotech crops into the EU, which is a huge importer of GM grains, which will accelerate adoption of GM crops in other parts of the world,” said Blight.
Europe imports GM grain predominately to feed livestock. Current legislation states that all genetically modified products for human consumption must be clearly labelled, with the exception of livestock feed.
Blight also confirmed that Monsanto will continue to invest in its conventional seed business in Europe.
“We will be investing several hundred million dollars in Europe over a decade to expand our conventional seed production and breeding capabilities there,” he said.