Government's wildlife advisers slam EU GM seed proposals14 October 2002
Wildlife watchdogs of the Government have warned that EU plans to allow batches of conventional seed to contain significant levels of GM contamination "could result in adverse impacts on farmland biodiversity."
Civil servants are due to give the go-ahead to the controversial proposals in the next few weeks. Friends of the Earth is urging European Agriculture Ministers and Environment Ministers - who recently met to discuss GM issues in Luxembourg - to intervene and scrap the proposed new seed regulations.
Friends of the Earth obtained the British Statutory Nature Conservation Agencies' response to the draft European proposals which warns that the ecological impacts are "poorly understood," and could lead to the creation of GM super-weeds which "may lead to farmers using more herbicides . . . potentially resulting in increased damage to biodiversity." Furthermore, GM crops could cross with wild plant species which "could lead to disruption of native ecosystems or the gradual development of weediness in native species."
The nature conservation agencies calculate that the proposed contamination threshold for oilseed rape (0.3 per cent) would mean that up to 10,000 GM seeds per hectare could be inadvertently sown. If neighbouring farmers also unknowingly plant GM-contaminated seed, the report warns, the two GM crops may cross, leading to "gene stacking" and serious weed control problems for farmers.
"Allowing GM-contaminated seed to be sold across Europe is a recipe for disaster," said Friends of the Earth Senior GM Campaigner Pete Riley. "It will pollute our food and countryside and remove consumer choice. If anything goes wrong with this new technology the potentially catastrophic consequences will be irreversible. Ministers must step in urgently to stop these plans becoming law."
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