UK Risks 'Superweed' GM Pollution - Green Group 
 
UK: July 10, 2003 - Reuters
  
LONDON  -  "Superweeds"   could  start  growing  in  the  British
countryside  due  to  cross-pollination with genetically modified
(GM)  oilseed rape  if  the  latter  is  grown  commercially,  an
environmental lobby group said on Thursday.  


Friends  of  the Earth (FoE)  is stepping up its campaign against
gene-spliced crops as a national debate on the issue  enters  its
final stages, and ahead of a U.K.  government decision on whether
such crops should be commercialized.  FoE said it had mapped out,
with  the aid of botanical data,  key areas across the UK most at
risk from pollen carried from GM rapeseed.  

The mapping showed that areas at risk were popular ones for  five
of  the GM crop's most closely related wild relatives,  including
wild  turnip  and  cabbage,  which  have  cross  pollinated  with
rapeseed in the past.  

"Scientists  are  concerned  that  allowing GM oilseed rape to be
grown in the UK could lead to herbicide tolerant genes and  other
traits  escaping into the wild plant relatives.  If this happens,
it could lead to the creation of herbicide tolerant 'superweeds',
" the group said in a statement.  

"Allowing GM oil seed rape to be commercially  grown  in  the  UK
will almost certainly lead to GM contamination," it said.  

GM  pollen  can  be  carried by the wind,  bees and through human
contact over vast distances, the group said.  

"The long-term consequences of this  are  difficult  to  predict.
The  Government must not allow the biotech industry to experiment
with the UK's environment," spokesman Pete Riley said.  

REUTERS NEWS SERVICE