Archived press release

SHOCK GM LEGAL MOVE BY ALL-PARTY MPs. Politicians and FOE Sue Government Over Seed Fast-Tracking

31 March 1999

Norman Baker MP, John Randall MP, Alan Simpson MP, representatives of Friends of the Earth, and Frankenstein's ubiquitous monster, will be outside the High Court in the Strand at 10.30am on Wednesday

MPs from all three major parties are to join Friends of the Earth in suing the Government over an attempt to speed up the commercial growing of genetically modified (GM) food.

The MPs involved in the case are: Norman Baker (Lib Dem, Lewes), John Randall (Con,Uxbridge) and Alan Simpson (Lab, Nottingham South). The case is crucial to the commercial future of GM crops in Britain, and will see an important clash over the powers of the legislature and the executive. Legal papers to begin the case will be presented to the HIgh Court on Wednesday.

See the detailed legal argument

The “unprecedented” legal move by the MPs and FOE concerns a key decision last month by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF). MAFF has extended a non-statutory seed approval scheme to cover GM crops, short-circuiting the slower statutory seed approval system. This cuts about two years off the time needed for commercial growing of GM crops for human consumption to begin.

Before seeds can be marketed, their variety must have been entered on the National List and the seeds themselves must be certified. (For GM seeds, a GMO marketing consent must also be obtained.) To obtain National Listing, a plant variety must be shown to be distinct, stable, uniform and to have value for cultivation and use. To be certified, a seed lot must meet various tests including purity and freedom from disease.

The statutory certification process takes place after National Listing and typically takes about two to three years. But since 1975, MAFF has allowed a non-statutory certification process to take place before National Listing. This allows necessary tests to be carried out

in advance and means that statutory certification can usually be completed immediately after National Listing [1]. In February 1999, MAFF decided to extend this non-statutory scheme to cover GM crops.

But Friends of the Earth has been advised by Counsel that the whole non-statutory scheme is unlawful. At a meeting last week between FOE and MAFF officials, the Government side was unable to give a legal defence of its scheme. FOE and the MPs have therefore sought a judicial review. FOE and the MPs argue that MAFF has used the Royal Prerogative to create a new certification scheme, but that this decision has no legal force and could only properly be made through Parliament.

Commenting on the case, FOE Legal Adviser Peter Roderick said:

“For MPs of every major Party to be involved in a judicial review of a key Government decision is unprecedented and heartening. The Government have behaved outrageously by helping the biotech industry speed up GM food-growing,behind Parliament's back and with no public support. MAFF has created a scheme with no legal basis to shave two years off the time it will take to grow GM food in Britain. Meanwhile the Government's spin-doctors have been claiming that they are listening to public opinion, and slowing the whole process down. The Government hoped to use the obscurity of seed law to sneak this decision past the public without anyone noticing. But this court case - and the vital decision of the MPs to back it -shows that they have been caught in the act”.

[1] Seeds are certified for marketing on a statutory 'generational ladder', needing certification at each rung of the ladder. For example, the generational ladder for seeds of oilseed rape is: Breeder's Seed (which produces) Pre-Basic Seed (which produces) Basic Seed (which produces) Certified Seed. Only Certified Seed is intended for human and animal consumption, and it is only when this stage is reached that sufficient quantities of seed for full commercialisation will have been built up.Progressing up the generational ladder takes perhaps two to three years. But the non-statutory scheme allows “provisional” certification for every stage up to the production of Certified Seed, before National Listing is completed. Statutory certification as Certified Seed can therefore be granted immediately after Listing and commercial growing can begin at once.

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust