UK: August 23, 1999

   LONDON - Environmental pressure group Friends of the Earth said it was
   taking the British government to court over the "rushed" approval of
   an expansion of genetically modified (GM) crop trials.

   Friends of the Earth said it would file papers with the High Court
   requesting a review of the government's "shortcut" decision to allow
   the biotechnology company AgrEvo to quadruple the amount of land
   covered by a GM crop trial.

   "We have caught the government red-handed. They have tried to bend the
   law to suit a giant GM company in a hurry to get its crops into the UK
   market," Friends of the Earth policy director Tony Juniper said.

   But judicial review is not automatic, and it was unclear when there
   would be a ruling on the environmental group's petition for a hearing
   before the High Court.

   AgrEvo is a joint venture between Germany's Hoechst AG and Schering AG
   and is one of the leaders in the field of biotechnology.

   AgrEvo confirmed it had been granted government consent to carry out
   research and development on GM crops in Britain.

   "This valuable work must be and always has been carried out within
   these strict regulatory frameworks," the company said.

   A government spokesman would not comment until the government was
   served with legal papers in the case.

   Friends of the Earth alleged the government allowed AgrEvo to change a
   GM crop being tested - from spring oilseed rape to winter oilseed rape
   - and expand the trial area and time involved without submitting a new
   application, which the environmentalists said was required under
   government rules.

   The decision allowed AgrEvo to quadruple the amount of land covered by
   the trials, from 1,250 hectares to 5,000 hectares and grow the crop
   for 12 months rather than six, the group said.

   Had the Department of Environment, Transport and Regions followed
   proper procedures, it would have told AgrEvo to fill out consent forms
   and might have put the application to an advisory group that
   scrutinises the process, said Friends of the Earth spokesman Ian
   Willmore.

   Consent forms give notice that changes are underway and give people a
   chance to influence the decision, he said, adding that this was the
   first test case aimed at regulation of GM crops.

   "You can't use this procedure to demolish the whole GM trials
   programme, much as we might like to. All you can do is force the
   government to follow the law," he said.

   Consumer resistance in Britain has forced many supermarkets to remove
   GM ingredients from their own-brand products.

   Some activists have destroyed GM crops under trial in Britain, fearing
   environmental contamination and health risks.

   Story by Susan Cornwell

   REUTERS NEWS SERVICE