GM Food

THE GM QUESTIONS THAT NO-ONE CAN ANSWER

It has just been announced by Margaret Beckett, the Environment Secretary, of all people, that despite growing public concerns and opposition to GM crops, farmers will now be allowed to grow commercial GM maize, (but not sugar beet or rape seed oil as yet) to be used as cattle feed.

The Consumers Association said the decision displayed  utter contempt for public opinion. Sue Davies, the principle policy adviser, said GM maize offers no obvious benefits. Consumers dont want it, the food industry dont want it, yet bizarrely, the Government is determined that it will be grown and used in animal feed from next year. Market research carried out by the Consumers Association shows that fewer than one third of the members of the public interviewed thought that GM crops should be grown commercially at the moment. Sue Davies added  There are still too many unanswered questions about the long term implications . When will the Government take its fingers out of its ears and listen? She added By rushing ahead in this way, the Government has shown that it prioritises the biotech industry over consumer opinion and consumer choice.

Mrs Beckett told the Commons  It was never the intention that the debate would do more than explore the range and nature of the concerns that the public have. She went on to say she believed her approach to be  the right one, it is precautionary and evidence based. Though she admitted the issue was difficult and bedevilled by confusion.

A study in the US claims that over two thirds of conventional varieties of crops have been contaminated with GM genes this includes over 83% of the oil seed rape tested and over half of the maize and soya beans that were analysed.

A research spokesman for the Union of Concerned Scientists said this was the most conservative estimate

Campaigners fear that American farmers are now planting GM seeds in the belief that they are non GM varieties and that if the same thing happened in Britain, it would be the end for organic farming and the publics right to choose what they eat for themselves and their families..

Lord Melchett Chairman of the Soil Association said, If GM crops take hold here, we will jeopardise not only the environment, but also the rights of the vast majority of people who donÕt want to eat GM food or food contaminated with GM residues. Millions will lose their right to choose. The EU says than even organic food will be allowed to have the equivalent of up to almost one in a 100 mouthfuls of pure GM ingredients. This is not scare mongering, but genuinely scary.

Studies have shown that pollen from sites of GM crops can contaminate traditional crops that are growing in a radius of up to sixteen miles away. The pollen can be carried on the wind and also by insects and birds. Once crops are contaminated through cross pollination, hybrid seeds are produced. It then becomes virtually impossible to eradicate or reverse the process. The government's own Agriculture, Environment and Bio-Technology Commission had to admit last year that complete and total separation of GM and non GM crops was impossible.

In the Philippines, it was recently reported that farmers and their families who live near a GM maize field, have suffered from a variety of illnesses which range from fevers, breathing problems, skin and intestinal ailments. This report has fuelled concerns over the next generation of GM crops which are modified to produce medicines and industrial chemicals which will become in effect biological factories.

If these genes are allowed to cross pollinate conventional food supplies, as studies in the US have shown that they inevitably will- they could seriously damage the health of consumers and future generations .

Author of the American food study, Dr Margaret Mellon said,  These products would raise immediate alarms if they contaminated the food supply,and seed contamination is the back door to the food supply. This study shatters the presumption that at least one portion of the seed supply - that for traditional varieties of crops - is truly free of genetically engineered elements. The traditional seed supply is an agricultural treasure that must be preserved.

A spokesman for the Agriculture Bio-Technology Council which represents the biggest producers of GM seeds said he was not surprised by the findings but claimed they did not entail danger to health.

He did not offer to show evidence as proof of this, how could he?