South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal Rules Against Monsanto on Genetically Modified Maize

This landmark decision by South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal overturns the country’s commercial approval of Monsanto’s GM maize variant, MON87460. The ruling, issued by a panel of five judges, followed a prolonged legal challenge led by the African Centre for Biodiversity, which argued that the Monsanto company, now owned by Bayer, had received approval for its maize without adequate scrutiny of the potential environmental and health risks.

The judgement nullifies previous approvals granted in South Africa by the country’s executive council for GMOs, an appeal board, and the minister of agriculture, food and fisheries, as well as a 2023 high court ruling, marking South Africa’s first judicial decision addressing GMOs and setting a significant precedent for future cases.

To read how, after a four-year legal battle, Monsanto recently dropped a lawsuit against Mexico’s ban on its GM maize, see this news story on our website.