Superweed fears after GM crop 'interbreeding' NewsEdge January 4, 2003 12:09pm GENES from GM crops are interbreeding with other crops and weeds, a government report has found. Evidence of contamination between engineered oilseed rape and non-GM plants has been discovered following a six-year research programme. Environmental group Friends of the Earth has warned that the results highlight the potential threat of "super weeds" in the British countryside. The research found that the weed wild turnip was affected by gene flow when planted next to GM oilseed rape, prompting fears that it could become resistant to herbicides. Current isolation requirements for GM crops could be reviewed following the publication of the results. Peter Riley, spokesman for Friends of the Earth said: "These results should cause the Government to think again about the long term implications on the commercial growing of oilseed rape. "Contamination of crops and seeds is inevitable once commercial growing begins. "The prospect of super weeds causing problems for farmers is a step nearer." Mr Riley accused the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment of complacency over contamination levels and called on the government to review ACRE's role. He also criticised the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for not publishing the full report on its website. "It's unusual because the Department is usually open," he said. "It seems to me to be moving backwards rather than forwards." The work, which was reviewed by ACRE, focused on GM oilseed rape crops at sites including official farm-scale trials. In some samples, the GM oilseed rape contaminated normal crops 200 metres away. The report summary published on the Defra website stated that commercial scale releases of GM oilseed rape in the future could pollinate other crops and Brassica rapa (wild turnip). It added: "There may be a need to review isolation requirements in keeping with current legislation on contamination thresholds in crops, in light of this research." A spokesman for Defra said: "There's been no decision on the future of GM. If a decision is made discussions on separation distances will be part of that." He said that the results, which included research on a pilot farm-scale trial, were as expected - showing low levels of contamination. He added that publishing the report on Christmas Eve was not the "ideal time ", but said: "There has been no attempt to mislead." "It's 100 pages long. It's very detailed and very scientific - that's why it's not on the website."