Sunday Telegraph (London), Sunday 5 December 1999
Church bans GM crop trials on its land
By Jonathan Petre
GOVERNMENT trials of genetically modified crops on land owned by the
Church of England have been vetoed by a top-level Church committee.
The decision, which comes amid continuing controversy over the safety
and morality of GM testing, will be a blow to ministers, who had hoped
to lease some of the Church's 123,000 acres. The Central Science
Laboratory, the main research arm of the Ministry of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food, applied for permission to use the land at a meeting
with Church Commissioners earlier this year. But The Telegraph has
learned that the Church's influential Ethical Investment Working Group
decided last week that the request should be turned down.
The group's conclusion has to be ratified by the commissioners's board
of governors in the New Year, but observers are confident that they will
not overrule what is described as a "very strong" recommendation. An
insider said that the group's decision had been unanimous. Members fear
that the long-term value of Church land could be adversely affected if
it was used for GM testing, particularly if it had been targeted by
protesters. "They also explored the theological issue of being a good
neighbour, both in terms of the possible effects on neighbouring farmers
and on the whole environment," the insider added.
The group's decision further highlights the Government's problems in
finding landowners prepared to allow GM trials on their property
following a series of attacks on crops by environmental activists. The
ethical criticism could also embarrass Tony Blair, the Prime Minister,
who is a practising Christian. The group, which met in private on
Wednesday, began its inquiry into the issue in the summer and took
evidence from a range of organisations including Christian Aid, English
Nature and Friends of the Earth.
It is understood that the commissioners do not have the legal power to
prevent farmers currently leasing their land from growing GM crops and
can only include the ban in future tenancy agreements. In practice,
however, tenant farmers are unlikely to defy the Church's official
stance on the issue. At present, no Church agricultural land is used for
genetically modified crops.