Assembly Secretary urged not to rubber stamp GM seed decision

The Assembly Secretary for Agriculture and Rural Development, Christine Gwyther, has been urged not to make a decision which would allow the first GM seeds to be commercially available.

The decision to put a GM seed onto the National Seed List has been sent to the Assembly Secretary to accept or reject. In a letter to Ms. Gwyther [1], Friends of the Earth Cymru say it is premature for GM seeds to be approved for marketing as the farm scale trials examining their safety are nowhere near finished.

The National Seed List [2] is the final regulatory hurdle that seeds, including GM seeds, have to clear before they can be commercially grown and marketed in the UK. FOE Cymru has been informed that the decision on whether to put the GM fodder maize seed onto the National Seed List has been referred to Ministers [3]. In Wales, this means the decision to accept or reject this proposal will be made by Ms. Gwyther.

Raoul Bhambral, FOE Cymru's GM Campaigner commented:

" Christine Gwyther should not allow these seeds to enter the National Seed List. We have no guarantee that the crops are safe, for human health or the environment, as the Government's own trials are not finished. The decision to approve the seeds for listing has gone to the Assembly and Christine should send an emphatic 'No!' back to Westminster.

" For GM seeds to be commercially available well before the end of the trials would be completely unacceptable. If Christine doesn't say 'No' then we could be seeing farmers in Wales planting GM crops later this year. And yet, the Government has assured us time and time again that GM seeds would not be sold commercially until they were proved safe for the environment and human health. They haven't proved this and until they do we must not experiment with our environment.

" We hope Christine will work for the interests of people living in the Welsh environment and not for the interests of the biotech companies."

Notes

[1] Attached copy of letter from Raoul Bhambral to Christine Gwyther AM, dated 17 February 2000.

[2] A number of hurdles have to be cleared before a GM crop can be commercially grown. First it must obtain an EU marketing consent under GMO rules. It then has to get a Novel Food approval and be put on the National Seed List (the GM T25 maize in question, and a number of other GM seeds already have the first two). In the case of herbicide-tolerant crops (which includes the GM maize) permission to use the herbicide must also be given. However, these crops can still be grown without the herbicide being used. A company might well do this, for example, to multiply it's GM seed.

[3] Personal communication between Richard Staward, Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food : Plant Variety and Rights Office and Peter Roderick, FOE's legal adviser.

[4] Attached copy of letter sent to Agriculture Committee members on 21 February 2000.

FOR THE URGENT ATTENTION OF :

Christine Gwyther AM
National Assembly for Wales
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff CF99 1NA

17 February 2000

Dear Christine,

RE : AgrEvo's T25 Genetically Modified Maize, National Listing and the Farm-Scale Trials

We understand that a decision on the first genetically modified (GM) commercial seed variety has been forwarded to you for approval. The proposal is to add a GM maize to the National Seed List. Decisions in respect of many other varieties may also follow shortly. Once on a National List the GM seeds can be sold commercially to farmers.

Friends of the Earth Cymru has a number of concerns regarding such a proposed decision. We are particularly concerned that the National List process - the final regulatory hurdle needed before marketing of the variety (notwithstanding the absence of full pesticide approval) - is proceeding despite the fact that the farm-scale trials into this maize, and other GM varieties, are far from finished and that the commercial growing of GM crops has not been fully debated in the National Assembly.

Despite the reservations FOE has expressed regarding the farm-scale trials, the UK Government's position is that the trials are necessary for determining the relative environmental effects of commercially growing GM crops. Given this position, it would clearly be premature for GM seeds to be approved for marketing, or to be given full pesticide approval, in advance of those effects having been properly assessed.

We would therefore urge you not to make a decision to list T25 maize, or any other herbicide-tolerant GM variety, and ensure that no commercial pesticide approvals will be granted, at least until the farm-scale trials have been completed, their results properly assessed and when the commercial growing of GM crops has been fully debated in our Assembly. You will remember that the Assembly had a short debate in June 1999 and the majority voted for the motion that Wales take a lead in the control of GMOs and the commercial release of GM crops.

I hope that you will consider this debate when making your decision. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Raoul Bhambral
GM Campaigner

23 February 2000

To : Members of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee
Ieuan Wyn Jones
Rhodri Glyn Thomas
Janet Davies
Richard Edwards
Glyn Davies
Mick Bates
Karen Sinclair
Peter Rogers
Carwyn Jones

CC : Mike German
Nick Bourne
Dafydd Wigley

21st February 2000

Dear Committee Members,

RE : AgrEvo's GM Maize and National Listing

As you may know, the Plant Varieties and Seeds Committee met last Wednesday to discuss the entry of AgrEvo's GM Maize onto the National Seed List. Richard Staward from MAFF's Plant Variety and Seeds Office has informed us that the proposal has been sent to Ministers for them to accept or reject the proposal. We understand that in Wales this means the decision will have gone to the Agriculture Secretary, Christine Gwyther, for her to accept or reject the proposal.

I have written to Ms. Gwyther urging her not to make a decision which would permit the GM maize to enter the National Seed List. A copy of this letter is attached.

I hope that you will investigate this situation, and take whatever action you are able to, to ensure that the proposal is rejected. We have no guarantee of the safety of these crops, and the Government's Farm-Scale Trials are nowhere near finished. A particular problem with this proposal is the fact that the maize is intended for animal feed, and as yet there have been no safety assessment for animals eating GM feed (EU Commissioner Byrne, responsible for health and consumer protection, has referred to this as the 'missing link' in Community legislation on GMOs. )

Farm animals may consume a greater proportion of GM ingredients in their diet than humans. In the UK, maize commonly makes up 30 - 50% of the diet of dairy cattle. The use of maize silage for beef cattle is also increasing as a cheaper alternative to grain. So there is a higher risk of gene transfer to bacteria in the intestines of cattle than humans.

The absence of animal feed safety legislation must be addressed before GM seeds intended for feed are allowed onto the market. I hope that you will do everything in your power to ensure this List proposal is rejected.

I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,

Raoul Bhambral
GM Campaigner