Archived press release

Government must address GM debate chaos say groups

2 June 2003

On the day that the Government launches its public debate on GM, eight major organisations in the UK have joined forces to call on the Government to extend the debate until the end of October, to ensure that people have the chance to take part and have their views heard.

In a letter to Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, signed by Consumers' Association, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, National Federation of Women's Institutes, National Trust, UNISON, RSPB and Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming, the groups re-affirmed their support for the public debate but criticised the way it has been organised. The groups also warned that the Government has failed to create sufficient opportunities for people to get involved and share their views on GM, including commercialisation in the UK.

• The Government has given no guidance on how the public's views are to be fed into the overall decision about the commercialisation of GM in the UK

• Very few meetings have been arranged at local levels

• The background materials for people taking part in the debate are very basic and have not yet been tested with a real audience to ensure they provoke an informed discussion

• Little guidance has been given on how the local meetings should be facilitated to ensure that people are fully involved, that their views are heard and that they are recorded accurately

As a result of these concerns the eight groups have called on DEFRA to address this series of failings by extending the deadline of the debate until October and the publication of the final report to early 2004. This would help to improve the process and allow the evaluation of the farm scale trials to inform the views of participants.

Liana Stupples, Policy and Campaigns Director at Friends of the Earth said

"The public has been making its feelings known on GM for the last six years, but the Government has not been willing to listen. Now that they are finally inviting people to express their concerns, the

Government must take this debate seriously and show that they are doing so."

Sheila McKechnie, Director, Consumers' Association, said:

"The organisation of the GM public debate can only be described as a catalogue of errors from start to finish with the Government paying mere lip service to consumer concerns. Enough is enough. Consumers deserve a genuine chance to have their views heard and it is the responsibility of Margaret Beckett's department to make sure that they get it."

Mark Avery, Director of Conservation, RSPB, said:

"The RSPB remains concerned about the potential impact of GM technology on farmland wildlife. Any failure to ensure a meaningful public debate on GM will further diminish public confidence. We are encouraging our million members to participate and their views must not be ignored. "

Peter Nixon, Director of Conservation, National Trust, said:

"This Public Debate should blaze a trail for Government to develop policies in ways that recognise the importance of consumer attitudes alongside and informed by good science. In particular it is vital that the outcome of field trials informs the debate."

Notes

The Central Office of Information (COI) has been tasked with organising the public debate on GM, overseen by the public debate steering board. However, COI is managed by Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The group has compiled a list of some of the many errors made. For a copy of this please contact Miranda Watson, tel: 0207 770 7264 or e-mail: miranda.watson@which.co.uk

For a copy of the letter written to Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP contact Miranda Watson

According to Consumers' Association research 57 per cent of consumers have concerns about the use of GM in food production, with the main concern being that they do not know enough about it.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust