Posted on 4-8-2003
US
Market Imperialism Will Conquer GM Opposition?
It would seem that the views of America are more important than
those of
the British or NZ public when it comes to taking important decisions
about
the future.
By Marie Woolf, The Independent, 2 August 2003
GM crops can be more damaging to neighbouring flora and fauna
than ordinary
strains of sugar beet, maize and oilseed rape, the Government's
farm trials
have shown.
The experiments have disproved the theory that GM plants would
interact
with other species in the same way as their conventional counterparts.
In
particular, the impact on insects, weeds and hedgerow plants
has proved
radically different, the trial results have revealed. GM enthusiasts
have
argued that the crops will not affect the countryside. But sources
close to
the trials say that the findings, now being assessed by experts,
prove that
the "null hypothesis" about GM crops is wrong.
The three crops in the trials, GM maize, oilseed rape and sugar
beet, have
all behaved differently to the conventional varieties grown
beside them.
Some have destroyed more insects and weeds than conventional
varieties,
although one crop, believed to be maize, is thought to have
had a more
positive effect on killing unwanted common "weeds". One senior
source close
to the trials said: "The null hypothesis is wrong, that's what's
come out
of the trials clearly. What is consistent is there are differences
in the
impact of GM crops and conventional crops." Three varieties
of GM crops
have been tested in hundreds of farm-scale trials.
The Government is to base its decision on whether to grow GM
crops
commercially in Britain on the results of these trials. Whitehall
experts
believe ministers will give the green light to grow one variety
of GM crop
in Britain, possibly maize, to send a signal to the Americans
that they are
not anti-GM. But two other varieties are expected to be rejected
because
they may damage the environment. The secret results, which will
be sent to
a government advisory committee on environmental contamination,
are being
checked by scientists.
Biotechnology firms have been given a "licence to pollute" because
of a
loophole in the law that allows them to escape prosecution,
critics say.The
law on growing GM crops will allow such companies to escape
fines or even
prison if they do not "deliberately" release GM material into
the
environment. The get-out clause has incensed environmentalists,
who say it
proves controls are not tough enough to stop GM crops spreading
into the
wild across Britain. The 1990 Environmental Protection Act means
farmers
who allow GM seed to be mixed with conventional crops, creating
GM hybrids,
would escape prosecution if they could prove the transfer was
unintentional. They are unlikely to be prosecuted if they "exercised
all
precautions" to prevent GM genes escaping.
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