Friends of the Earth slams EC chief scientist

Glover made the assertion in an online media interview published last month.  A spokesman for FoE Europe told FoodNavigator he was not surprised that Glover would make such a comment, because she came from a GM science background.

Glover had turned the standard European approach to GM technology, which requires the burden of proof to lie with biotechnology firms, on its head. He called her comments “very disappointing”.

He continued: “If people see her as pro-GM, her views will be sidelined. She has got to show that she is looking at things from a scientific perspective.”​

Glover holds a personal chair of molecular and cell biology at the University of Aberdeen, and has honorary positions at the Rowett and Macaulay Institutes. She is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a member of the Natural Environment Research Council, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.

Concerns​

Earlier this month, FoE raised concerns over the European Food Safety Authority’s development of safety guidelines for the introduction of GM animals to the EU, which it published in June.

The organisation said it saw the move as a precursor for developing products from such animals for commercial sale.

Mute Schimpf, food campaigner for FoE Europe, said: "The idea of eating genetically modified meat or milk turns people's stomachs. Leading European supermarkets know it would be bad for business to sell GM animals products and will not stock them. Not a single country allows GM animals for food production. So why is the European Commission starting a procedure to approve such products? It's preposterous."​

The FoE Europe spokesman said it did not underestimate the threat from pro-GM industry lobbying groups. “We don’t underestimate the threat from industry. They are there to push their products regardless of market favour or not."​

He claimed according to the latest EC Eurobarometer survey, 68% of EU consumers were not in favour of GM food.