World Grain - June 2009 - 36

FEATUR
RE: ORGANIC INDUSTRY SHOWS GROWTH

The Cimbria Group
of Companies

when it started to seem that staunch opposition to genetically
modified crops was softening. Conversely, the entrance of more
companies into the organic sector is encouraging more certified
land in production. Monsanto said that Germany has offered
no new evidence that GMO cultivation is damaging or unsafe.
"This is the result of conflict in an area where science and
politics collide," said Brad Mitchell of Monsanto's public affairs department. "From our perspective, the German ban is
inappropriate and it is ignoring the needs of farmers all over
the world."

* GRAIN division

Grain and seed treatment
Projects range from silo installations, seed processing plants, grain
drying plants and related equipment for the feedstuff and milling
industries.

* BULK division

Bulk technology and handling
The bulk division supplies discharge systems, loading equipment and conveying systems for
e.g. harbour terminals.

"This is the result of conflict in an area where
science and politics collide."
Brad Mitchell, Monsanto spokesman

* OIL division

Vegetable oil extraction and
Biodiesel
The oil division is categorised within the following areas: Oil seed
processing, refining of vegetable
oil and production of edible oil,
biodiesel as well as other semiproducts.

* AIR division

Air cleaning and ventilation
The components are applied by a
wide range of businesses within
woodworking, milling, agriculture,
plastic, paper, textile and a large
number of other industries.

CIMBRIA

II/

The E.U. Commission, the bloc's executive arm, has tried
without success to get the bans in other countries lifted.
The ban put Germany alongside France, Austria, Hungary,
Greece and Luxembourg, which also banned MON 810
maize despite its approval by the E.U. as safe for commercial use in the bloc.
German farmers have registered intentions to cultivate some
3,300 hectares of GM maize for the 2009 harvest, up from
3,100 hectares in 2008. "There are certain parties in a segment
of politics who are simply against the proliferation of ag technologies," Mitchell said. "Their actions fly in the face of E.U.
rules, science and, frankly, experience."
In other news on the GMO front, a presidential decree issued in March ended the 10-year Mexican moratorium against
the planting of genetically modified maize. The Organic Trade
Association (OTA) called for a global moratorium on genetically modified organisms in agricultural applications as early
as 2000. There certainly is not a consensus, however, that
GMO cultivation is safe and environmentally sound.
"Genetically modified resistance to insects and pesticides is
not just something that is applied and goes away," says Barbara
Haumann of OTA. "It's in the stems, it's in the roots and it's
causing soil damage."

Cimbria House . Box 40 . DK-7700 Thisted
Tel. +45 96 17 90 00 . Fax +45 96 17 90 19
holding@cimbria.com . www.cimbria.com

Subsidiaries and Branch Offices in Denmark, Norway, England,
Germany, Poland, Holland, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy,
Kenya, Russia, Ukraine, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore
and China.
World wide service and maintenance

ECOLOGICAL CONCERNS
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has done studies on the impact of
glyphosate (Roundup) on soybeans and other commodity
crops. Although GM soybeans and glyphosate pose little
or no human health concerns, their impacts on soil biology
and productivity and on the growth and health of the soybean plant itself have received little attention. One problem
is with the alteration of plant exudates, which are liquids
that naturally help plants heal and provide defenses against
insect attacks. Exudates also exhibit offensive characteris-

For more information, see Page 86.

June 2009 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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World Grain - June 2009

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