§ Mr. Simon ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the implications of the recently reported deaths of 12 cattle in Hesse, Germany, in a dairy herd fed on GM fodder maize. [157753]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 1 March 2004]: I understand that the German authorities have investigated the incident thoroughly and concluded that the deaths, which occurred in 2001 and 2002, were unrelated to the use of GM maize Bt176 in the cows' feed.
§ Joan RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the number of UK local authorities declaring themselves GM-free zones. [161725]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 16 March 2004]: We do not collate information on the number of local authorities who declare themselves GM-free zones. Under EU law it is not possible for Governments or local authorities to impose a blanket ban on the use of approved GM products, including the commercial cultivation of approved GM crops.
§ Joan RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2004,Official Report, column 561W, on GM crops, what assessment she has made of the Monsanto GM virus-resistant sweet potatoes grown in Kenya. [161726]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 16 March 2004]: No assessment has been made on Monsanto GM virus-resistant sweet potatoes grown in Kenya. Assessments on crops grown in non-EU countries will only be made when an application is made to import the product into the EU. The Kenyan GM sweet potato is however one of the case studies covered in the report by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.