EU Could Uproot All GM Crops with New Proposals

 (Posted: 08-Aug-01)

Daily Mail | By James Chapman | August 6, 2001

Genetically-modified crops could disappear from the
British countryside under EU proposals to save conventional
farms from contamination. New rules would force farmers and
scientists growing GM crops to have a vast buffer zone between
their land and non-modified crops.

Friends of the Earth revealed a memo demanding that
separation distances should be increased several fold to five
kilometres, just over three miles. Campaigners said the plans from
the European Commission's scientific committee would stop
commercial GM crop production before it has had the chance to
become established. They said the huge distances would make
it impractical for farmers to grow GM crops because all
but a handful of sites would be too close to conventional fields.

"These proposals should sound the death knell for GM
farming in the UK," said FoE campaigner Carol Kearney. "In
practice, they will mean a choice between a GM-free future for
farming, or GM-only seed and food.

"We are delighted the proposals take the threat of GM
contamination so seriously - this is the only way to
protect consumers from the unknown hazards of GM food".

The proposals, aimed at preserving the purity of
seeds, would also throw the Government's Pounds 4million programme to
test GM maize, oilseed rape and beet into chaos. At the moment,
scientists conducting the nationwide trials only have to keep
them 50 to 200 metres away from other agriculture, depending on the
type of crop.

Campaigners have condemned these limits as inadequate
and Ministers have admitted there will be 'Trace' levels
of contamination as pollen from GM crops is carried by
insects and on the wind.

However, even the much greater separation distances
proposed by the EC would still allow contamination of non-GM crops
by up to one per cent. Consumer and environmental groups argue
that this figure is still far too high and threatens the
livelihood of neighbouring non-GM farmers and beekeepers.

Last week, the Government announced more sites to test
GM oilseed rape with buffer zones of up to 200 metres. A
spokesman for the Environment Department insisted last night that the
programme of tests will continue.

"We are aware of the proposals and it's something we
are consulting on," he said. "In any case, commercial
growth is a long, long way down the road in Britain. It couldn't
even begin to happen before 2003 when we have finished our trials."

The issue of separation distances came to light after
seed contaminated with GM pollen was inadvertently imported
last year and planted at dozens of UK farms.