Over 70 environmental NGOs including the WWF called Monday for the sacking of Romania's new agriculture minister for his links to the genetically modified crop industry.
"The signatory organisations are calling on prime minister Emil Boc to sack Valeriu Tabara at once from any leading public position within the Ministry of Agriculture and appoint a new, objective minister", the non-governmental organisations said in a statement.
"Will Mr. Tabara be capable of representing the interests of Romanian farmers and consumers given his contractual connections to Monsanto -- the largest GMO producer in the world?" asked the NGOs.
They said genetically modified organisms "don't represent development in agriculture but rather a terrible risk which we should not take."
Tabara, who was appointed agriculture minister on Friday in a cabinet reshuffle, told the Romanian newspaper Evenimentul Zilei that he had indeed worked for Monsanto.
"There is nothing illegal or secret about this", he stressed.
Only two genetically modified crops have been approved for cultivation in the European Union, including Monsanto's genetically modified MON810 maize, which Romanian authorities have also approved.
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