UK agrees to GM crop, in principle
of GM maize on UK soil, provoking an angry reaction from consumer
campaigners who claim the recent debate and science review on GM
foods has fallen on deaf ears.
Speaking before Parliament yesterday the UK's environment secretary Margaret Beckett said the government-backed science review had concluded that there was no scientific case for ruling out all GM crops or products.
"We should agree in principle to the commercial cultivation of GM herbicide-tolerant maize," Beckett told MP's, adding that the go-ahead for crops would be subject to two conditions.
the first is that restrictions should be imposed on the existing EU marketing consent, due to expire in October 2006, and second, that 'consent holders' be required to carry out further scientific analysis to monitor changes in herbicide use on conventional maize.
In addition, the environment secretary claimed that farmers wanting to grow GM crops should be required to comply with a code of practice - with statutory backing - based on the EU's 0.9 per cent labelling threshold.
But anti-GM campaigners were not convinced. "Until we see the detail of the promised code of practice on co-existence and the statutory powers behind it - and until the GM industry accepts its responsibility for any future liabilities - consumers cannot be confident that the government's hedged GM policy will adequately address consumer concerns from the GM debate," said Sue Dibb of the UK's National Consumer Council (NCC).
Environmental campaigners Friends of the Earth slammed the announcement, claiming the government "has ignored considerable scientific uncertainties, shown contempt to Parliament and utterly disregarded public opinion."
"The government has given the thumbs up to GM maize, and shown two fingers to the British public," said Friends of the Earth's director, Tony Juniper.
Beckett hinted that approval could come as early as Spring 2005, but the environmental campaigners believe the government has a battle on its hands.
"The GM maize still needs National List approval before it can be added to the `seed list' and sold to farmers. This requires permission not only from the UK government, but also the devolved governments in Wales and Scotland. The Scottish Parliament and, particularly the National Assembly of Wales, are thought to be reluctant to agree," said Friends of the Earth.
While the government has theoretically given the go ahead to GM maize, Beckett stood firm on varieties of GM beet and oilseed rape that underwent the Farm-Scale Evaluations.
Advised by English Nature of their concern about the effect of current GM herbicide-resistant crops on biodiversity in 1998 the UK government set up farm-scale trials to assess these risks. The trials were largely completed and reported at the end of 2003.
"The UK should oppose the commercial cultivation of the relevant varieties of GM beet and oilseed rape anywhere in the European Union using the management regime tested in the Farm-Scale Evaluations,"
