Times, London, 6 November, 1999
GM CROPS COULD BE USED IN ANIMAL FEED
BY NICK NUTTALL, ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT
GENETICALLY modified
crops under test in controver-
sial farm trials in Britain
could enter the human food
chain as animal fodder, it
emerged yesterday.
The disclosure came as the
Government announced that
the biotechnology industry
was extending its voluntary
moratorium on the commer-
cial growing of GM crops for a
further three years.
Michael Meacher, Minister
for the Environment, had to
concede the possibility that the
crops could be used as animal
fodder before that date and en-
ter the human food chain,
either as meat or in animal
products such as milk.
The suggestion that any of
the test crops may enter the
food chain has astonished en-
vironmentalists. The minister
made the admission as he an-
nounced a deal postponing the
commercial growing of GM
crops until 2003, and possibly
for ever. He said that if the
farm trials of GM crops,
which end in 2002, show "sig-
nificant damage to biodiversi-
ty", the Government would
not allow commercialisation.
Such trials were vital, the
minister said, to resolve wheth-
er wildlife can be damaged by
the GM crops, in this case two
types of herbicide-tolerant
oilseed rape and a forage
maize. Mr Meacher refused to
define what he meant by "sig-
nificant" or how much dam-
age they needed to cause to be
blacklisted. About ten prelimi-
nary farm-scale trials were ap-
proved this year. The number
will be increased to 75 a year
over the next three years.
The present test crops have
been destroyed because none
has secured national and Euro-
pean approval.
Mr Meacher conceded yes-
terday that, within the environ-
mental trial period, there was
the remote possibility that the
crops could secure European
Commission food safety, pesti-
cide and other approvals. He
agreed that if that happened,
farmers would no longer be
bound to destroy the produce
and so it might then be used in
animal feed and so enter the
food chain. He said that, un-
der trade rules, it would be il-
legal not to allow that.
Stephen Smith, chief execu-
tive of Novartis Seeds and a
spokesman for the industry's
Supply Chain Initiative for
Modified Agricultural Crops,
said that any of the crops used
in that way would be labelled
and subject to "identity preser-
vation" throughout the supply
and food chain.
Many environmental ex-
perts believe that actvists bent
on destroying such crops will
intensify their actions, claim-
ing that the trials are commer-
cial in all but name.
Pete Riley, of Friends of the
Earth, said: "The Government
have merely announced that it
is business as usual for GM
crops."
He said that suggesting
even the remote possibility of
produce from the trials enter-
ing the food chain meant that
ministers had "not shot them-
selves in the foot, but had actu-
ally taken careful aim".
Mr Riley said it would be im-
possible to trace the produce:
"If it is fed to dairy cows, are
they going to follow the herd,
the milk tanker and all the
bottles to people's front
doors?"