GM public debate fiasco22 January 2003
The proposed public debate into GM crops and food is turning into a fiasco after Welsh Rural Affairs Secretary, Mike German called for it to be delayed until summer 2003. In a letter to GM Debate chair Professor Malcolm Grant, German stated: "Two or three months is the sort of time scale envisaged and we think that any lessening of that time scale could seriously undermine its purpose". He wants the committee to, "consider a two - three month debate taking place in summer 2003. This would allow more time to debate the issues with the due consideration they deserve".
German also supports the view that the public debate should include the results of the Farm Scale Evaluations due to be published in July. But the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Secretary Margaret Beckett insists that the GM public debate should be completed by the end of June including the final report, even though this is before the Farm Scale Evaluation results are published.
Concerns are also increasing about the lack of proper funding for the debate. Beckett is understood to have agreed to increase the funding by another £150,000 making a total of £400,000. However, more than £143,000 has already been spent on preparation work and estimates of the costs for the full debate range from £437,000 to £800,000.
"Beckett's idea that the debate should be done and dusted by June is looking unlikely. There is just not sufficient time left to allow the public time to engage with what is a complex scientific, economic, social and ethical issue. She should heed the advice of her counterpart in Wales and delay until the summer. However, DEFRA's reluctance to properly fund the full debate indicates that it is more interested in setting up an elaborate PR exercise than genuinely trying to involve the public in the decision making process on GM crops and food. We urge the GM debate steering group to stand up and fight for a full and wide ranging debate so the public can have their say on the future of GM crops and food," said Friends of the Earth GM Campaigner Pete Riley.
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