Hold the corn

Germany’s panic over BSE seems to be spreading to other areas, notably
genetically modified food. Berlin has cancelled a deal, planned for this week,
to approve three years of large-scale field trials of GM maize. “The BSE problem
has led society to rethink the principles . . . of food production,” says Renate
Künast of the Green Party, who has taken over from the agriculture and
health ministers sacked over the BSE furore.