Archived press release

Government Bows to Biotech Industry Again. New law reduces Government information on GM crops

18 November 1998

The new Regulations were rushed through Parliament, despite objections from many organisations including the National Farmers Union, the Country Landowners Association, Soil Association and the Lincolnshire Seed Growers Association [1]. The news follows the leak of an opinion research conducted for biotech giant Monsanto, which shows an absolute - and growing - majority of the public opposed to commercial growing of GM food in the UK.

Earlier this year the Court of Appeal [2] ruled that the Government were acting illegally by not requiring companies to replicate trials when submitting applications for new varieties for National Seed Listing Trials [3]. The Government has reacted to the criticism by simply abandoning the requirement for replicated trials. Friends of the Earth believes that, since the genetic engineering of food is new and unpredictable, companies should supply replicated trial data so that the Government can judge whether seeds should be listed in the UK. Some genetically engineered seeds in America, such as cotton, have failed,leading to major court cases between farmers and the biotech industry [4].

In their submission, the NFU wrote:

“the NFU is reluctant to support the proposal to pass a statutory instrument to remove the requirement for breeders to submit the results of the replicated tests. The objective of the National List is to improve the overall standard of varieties available in the UK. It is vital, therefore, that varieties applying for inclusion on the list have been thoroughly tested in a UK situation”.

The Lincolnshire Seed Growers Association urged the Government to keep the requirement for replicated trials for all types of seed, to protect the interests of farmers. They also commented on how the decision effect genetically engineered seeds: “To effectively shorten the required testing period at a time when there is public anxiety about genetically modified organisms does not seem to be a desirable circumstance”.

Commenting, Pete Riley, Food Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:
“Genetic engineering is a new and still unpredictable technology. Halving the amount of data needed shows once again that the Government is bowing to the interests of the biotech companies and is in total contempt of the growing public concern. The message seems clear - the interests of the biotech companies comes before the interests of the public or our farmers.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] Copies of the responses to the Seed Regulations Consultation from the NFU, Soil Association , Country Landowners Association and the Lincolnshire Seed Growers Association are available on request.

[2] In July organic farmer Guy Watson went to Court over the planting of GM crops near one of his organic crops. Mr Watson was concerned that the GM crops would cross pollinate with his crops, thus jeopardising their organic status. The case was supported by FOE and the Soil Association.

[2] On 17th September 1998 , the MAFF issued a consultation on how the Seed Regulations could be retrospectively amended to ensure that all seeds approved since 1995 and those currently in the process for National Seed List approval could be legalised. It was withdrawn on 7th October following representations from industry and replaced with a proposal to do away with the requirement for replicated trials altogether. Section 11.3 of the Seed Regulations requires the results of two replicated trails to be submitted with an application for National Seed List Trials. During the Court of Appeal hearing for the Guy Watson v DETR and MAFF, the Government admitted that the requirements under 11.3 had been dropped in 1995 and the Regulations had not been amended accordingly. This meant that all seed approved since then and all seeds currently under going trial failed to comply with the Regulations and were illegal.

[3] Fox J.L. (1997) Nature Biotechnology (15), 1997.

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