FRIENDS OF THE EARTH: Government bows to biotech ...
OTC 20.11.98 03:08
NOV 19, 1998, M2 Communications - The Government has been slammed
by Friends of the Earth for rushing through a new law to speed
the growing of genetically modified food in the UK. The change to
the Seed Regulations - described by FOE as "yet another New
Labour concession to the big biotech companies" - halves the
number of test trials required on genetically engineered seeds
and drastically cuts the amount of information gathered by the
Government before the crops can be commercially grown.
The new Regulations were rushed through Parliament, despite
objections from many organisations including the National Farmers
Union, the Country Landowners Association, Soil Association and
the Lincolnshire Seed Growers Association [1]. The news follows
the leak of an opinion research conducted for biotech giant
Monsanto, which shows an absolute - and growing - majority of the
public opposed to commercial growing of GM food in the UK.
Earlier this year the Court of Appeal [2] ruled that the
Government were acting illegally by not requiring companies to
replicate trials when submitting applications for new varieties
for National Seed Listing Trials [3]. The Government has reacted
to the criticism by simply abandoning the requirement for
replicated trials. Friends of the Earth believes that, since the
genetic engineering of food is new and unpredictable, companies
should supply replicated trial data so that the Government can
judge whether seeds should be listed in the UK. Some genetically
engineered seeds in America, such as cotton, have failed, leading
to major court cases between farmers and the biotech industry
[4].
In their submission, the NFU wrote:
"the NFU is reluctant to support the proposal to pass a
statutory instrument to remove the requirement for breeders to
submit the results of the replicated tests. The objective of the
National List is to improve the overall standard of varieties
available in the UK. It is vital, therefore, that varieties
applying for inclusion on the list have been thoroughly tested in
a UK situation".
The Lincolnshire Seed Growers Association urged the Government to
keep the requirement for replicated trials for all types of seed,
to protect the interests of farmers. They also commented on how
the decision effect genetically engineered seeds: "To
effectively shorten the required testing period at a time when
there is public anxiety about genetically modified organisms does
not seem to be a desirable circumstance".
Commenting, Pete Riley, Food Campaigner at Friends of the Earth,
said: "Genetic engineering is a new and still unpredictable
technology. Halving the amount of data needed shows once again
that the Government is bowing to the interests of the biotech
companies and is in total contempt of the growing public concern.
The message seems clear - the interests of the biotech companies
comes before the interests of the public or our farmers."
NOTES TO EDITORS
[1] Copies of the responses to the Seed Regulations Consultation
from the NFU, Soil Association, Country Landowners Association
and the Lincolnshire Seed Growers Association are available on
request.
[2] In July organic farmer Guy Watson went to Court over the
planting of GM crops near one of his organic crops. Mr Watson was
concerned that the GM crops would cross pollinate with his crops,
thus jeopardising their organic status. The case was supported by
FOE and the Soil Association.
[2] On 17th September 1998, the MAFF issued a consultation on how
the Seed Regulations could be retrospectively amended to ensure
that all seeds approved since 1995 and those currently in the
process for National Seed List approval could be legalised. It
was withdrawn on 7th October following representations from
industry and replaced with a proposal to do away with the
requirement for replicated trials altogether. Section 11.3 of the
Seed Regulations requires the results of two replicated trails to
be submitted with an application for National Seed List Trials.
During the Court of Appeal hearing for the Guy Watson v DETR and
MAFF, the Government admitted that the requirements under 11.3
had been dropped in 1995 and the Regulations had not been amended
accordingly. This meant that all seed approved since then and all
seeds currently under going trial failed to comply with the
Regulations and were illegal.
[3] Fox J.L. (1997) Nature Biotechnology (15), 1997.
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