Environmentalists claimed a victory and the death knell for genetically modified crops on Tuesday as U.S. chemical giant Monsanto declared it was giving up on the GM wheat it had hoped would smash consumer resistance. "This is the end of GM. It is the final nail in the coffin," said Tony Juniper, director of green lobby group Friends of the Earth. "I am sure the companies will come back with more proposals in the future but basically the damage is done. I am sure a combination of exporters, farmers, and consumers has finally got the message back to Monsanto that they can't spin this past the people who can see the truth of what is behind these products," he said.