Burning Issue: Does GM have a big part to play in securing the future of food supplies?

Published on Thursday 19 June 2008 22:12

Yes DR EVAN HARRIS, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, and Lib Dem science spokesman

IN 2004 the largest scientific experiment of its kind anywhere in the world took place in UK fields when scientists conducted the farm-scale evaluations (FSEs) of GM crops.

The idea was to look at what effect growing GM crops had on farmland wildlife, to see whether it would be safe to grow them in the UK. Despite repeated attempts by anti-GM campaigners to vandalise the experiment, the scientists published their results. They were mixed: some GM crops seemed to damage biodiversity while others appeared better for many groups of wildlife.

But, despite concluding on the basis of these trials that there was no scientific case for a ban, the government decided not to go ahead with commercial planting of GM crops.

Now that we are facing rising food prices, growing concerns about poverty in the developing world and environmental damage, the public – and hence the government – is getting over some of its initial revulsion against GM crops.

GM crops could be developed that are more resistant to drought and pests, and could be part of the solution to these problems.

At the moment the door is slammed shut on GM crops in the UK, closing a potentially promising avenue of research. Developing crops that are more productive and sustainable, and that could be grown commercially in the UK in the future, will open the door to investment in research which can harness some of the potential benefits for us all.

The UK pioneered the gathering of evidence on the safety of GM crops and then ignored the results. It is time to base our policy on the evidence and not just on public opinion.

No

DUNCAN McLAREN, Chief executive, Friends of the Earth Scotland

ADEBATE concluded that 85 per cent of the UK public did not want GM crops grown here; 95 per cent rejected government proposals on weak rules for growing GM crops in England. Furthermore, government-sponsored farm-scale trials of GM crops found two out of three GM crops grown were more damaging to farmland wildlife than growing conventional equivalents.

There is no evidence GM crops will help tackle the food crisis. The real reasons for the problems are complex, including commodity speculation, the global rush for biofuels and an unfair trade system. It is not due to the lack of GM crops.

GM crops do not increase average yields and there are no GM drought-tolerant or salt-tolerant crops on the market. Most GM crops grown around the world are grown in intensive monocultures, have resulted in a massive increase in pesticide use and are used for animal feed, not food. Last week, the government signed up to the UN International Agriculture Assessment which saw no clear role for GM crops in tackling global food needs. The report was so lukewarm over GM that the biotech industry pulled out of the process last year, and the US refused to sign the document.

Instead of helping the GM industry use the food crisis for financial gain, the government should encourage a radical shift towards sustainable farming systems that genuinely benefit local farmers, communities and the environment worldwide. We are heartened to see the Scottish Government take a strong anti-GM stance, and that it understands the negative impact GM foods could have on Scotland's reputation for high-quality produce.