London Times, 7 January 2000 (p.9)
Tesco to ban produce from GM trial sites
BY NICK NUTTALL, ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT
THE Tesco supermarket chain said yesterday that it
was blacklisting crops grown in fields that had been host to
genetically modified crops. The move will put pressure on
farmers to reject GM trials.
Tesco said that its customers were concerned that genetic
material from the modified crops could persist in the soil,
be taken up by bacteria and contaminate conventional
crops grown later.
The Government dismissed the move as a marketing ploy
last night. A spokeswoman in the Cabinet Office's GM com-
munications unit said that it would have no impact on the
Government's farm-scale trials because the Tesco ban
covered only fruit, vegetables and salads. Farmers involved
in the trials would be planting conventionally bred cereals
after completion of the tests.
Up to 75 fields, covering well over 1,700 acres, are being
sought this year for the planting and monitoring of GM
winter oil seed rape, spring oilseed rape and forage maize.
Michael Meacher, the Environment Minister, has said
that commercialisation of GM crops will not be allowed until
the farm-scale evaluations are completed in 2002 or 2003.
Lord Melchett, executive director of Greenpeace, told
the Oxford Farming Conference: "We expect every super-
market and food retailer in the UK will now have to follow
Tesco's lead. Any farmer considering holding a GM trial
now faces the prospect of never being able to sell pro-
duce from GM-contaminated land to the largest food retailer
in Britain."
Patrick Holden. of the Soil Association, which backs
organic agriculture, said that the announcement should end
any doubts in farmers' minds that GM crops were not worth
the trouble. 'This is excellent news. There is now an ever-
growing list of questions about growing GM crops."
Chartered surveyors gave warning that farms where tri-
als take place could see a fall in land values. Mark Grif-
fiths, European rural policy adviser to the Royal
institution of Chartered Surveyors, said: "Farmers'
advisers could well say that their farm will be worth less if
they grow GM crops."
Professor Chris Pollock, chairman of the scientific steer
ing committee behind the farm-scale trials, accused
Tesco of adding to, rather than allaying, public confusion. He
said there was no evidence that DNA from GM crops
persisted in the soil.
-------------------------------------------------------
REMARK:
The final paragraph of the article says:
"Professor Chris Pollock, chairman of the scientific steering-committee
behind the farm-scale trials ........said there was no evidence that DNA
from GM crops persisted in the soil."
This is untrue. It is certainly alarming that Professor Pollock is not aware
of this, or is being 'economical' with the information he is giving out.
Beneath we have posted related scientific references on this issue.
The fact that the UK government appears to be equally dismissive and
ignorant on this subject is also cause for great concern. The statement by the
government also displays its ignorance of agricultural rotations in parts of the
country. Some farms, for example, grow field-scale vegetables in the same rotation as sugar beet or oilseed
rape (both crops that have been undergoing GM trials in the UK), although
usually not in immediate succession.
Whilst often keen to accuse the public of being ill-informed on GM issues,
it is becoming increasingly common for leading scientists responsible for
taking this technology 'forward' in UK agriculture to issue false or
misleading statements about it.
For more on this disturbing unscientific phenomenon arising in the GM
scientific community see:
Mathews, J. (1999) 'False Reports and the Smears of Men', NGIN
http://members.tripod.com/~ngin/false.htm
=====================================================================
Letter of TESCO to its suppliers:
TESCO
Tesco House,
Delamare Road,
Cheshunt,
Hertfordshire ENS 9SL
Telephone: 01992632222
Extension:
Direct Line: 01992
Facsimile: 01992
Dear Supplier,
Re GM Trial Plots.
Our customers have reservations about GM foods-
In response Tesco policy is that we will not source any crop that has been
genetically modified.
Some scientists have now raised concerns about the DNA in post harvest waste
from GM trial crops, e.g. Rape and Sugar Beet, remaining in the soil.
Concerns have also been expressed about toxins from genetically modified Bt maize
migrating into the soil and affecting soil ecology (article published in New
Scientist 4th December).
We need to be able assure our customers that no material from GM crop trials
could come in contact with our crops. Therefore any crop grown for Tesco
MUST NOT be grown in a field that has been used for GM trial crops.
Thank you for your co-operation.
====================================================
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