Archived press release

Gm trials: expansion = contamination

28 February 2001

The massive rise in GM farm scale trial sites, announced today, will lead to the widespread contamination of food and the countryside Friends of the Earth warned. The livelihoods of neighbouring farmers and beekeepers, who are meeting the demand for GM-free food, will be seriously threatened. FOE also slammed the recent government decision to extend separation distances around GM crops as a deception. The new distances are designed to allow up to 1 % of neighbouring crops to be contaminated, and not to prevent it totally as the public demands.

Friends of the Earth also warned farmers and bee-keepers near the trials that GM material will be collected by honey bees and could escape into neighbouring crops [1]. In addition, GM material could jump into soil bacteria and contaminate farmland, permanently affecting land value [2].

Legal liability for GM contamination of food, crops and honey has not been resolved. The UK Government has so far failed to push for European legislation to deal with liability. FOE is calling on all parties to pledge themselves to introducing legislation in their Election manifestos. A bill making the biotechnology companies fully liable for any harm to human health, animal health,biodiversity and economic damage to farmers was presented to Parliament last year by Alan Simpson MP. It received a second reading. But the Government failed to support it and it failed.

Pete Riley GM Campaigner at Friends of the Earth said:
“Once again the biotech industry is being allowed to gamble with our countryside. Separation distances are entirely inadequate, and GM contamination will creep into our food. Perhaps this is what the Government intends. These crops threaten the livelihoods of those that are meeting the massive demand for GM-free food . They also represent a long-term risk to the environment.

The Government has failed to make the biotech industry responsible for its crops. If anything goes wrong it is unclear who would be expected to pick up the compensation bill. Strict liability legislation would ensure that GM companies act responsibly towards innocent farmers and beekeepers. FOE will be challenging all political parties to pledge themselves to this in the run up to the General Election”.

[1] Monitoring of pollen movement from a farm scale trial in Oxfordshire in 1999 found pollen in the air at over four times the revised separation distance that the Government announced earlier this month(6th Feb). Honey bees were found to have travelled 4.5km to collect pollen from the same field. Last spring a FOE survey discovered retail honey samples from areas close to GM oilseed test sites to be contaminated with GM pollen.
[2] The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors surveyed members in 1999 and 58% believed that growing GM crops could adversely affect land values.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust