Two 'citizen's juries' today handed down their verdict on GM crops - and both agreed the 'moratorium' on commercialisation in the UK should be continued.
Two independent juries were held simultaneously, in Newcastle upon Tyne and St Albans. The members of the public who volunteered to take part in the GM Jury project heard evidence from a wide selection of expert witnesses over a six week period.
Public disquiet surrounding GM food is revealed in the GM Jury's report, published on September 8th.
"The People's Report on GM Crops", highlights concerns on issues including the impact of GM crops on farming and the environment, food safety and potential health effects and the Government's handling of the GM debate.
The report was compiled by Newcastle University and funded jointly by the Consumers' Association, Greenpeace, the Co-operative Group and Unilever, Its findings reflect similar recent work in this area, both in the UK and abroad.
Other findings of the two juries included:
ENVIRONMENT - GM crops make farmers use more herbicides and pesticides and intensify the pressure on wildlife. We should only accept GM if it is part of a move away from the types of agriculture that are based on the high use of such chemicals.
Current GM technologies are too efficient at doing their job. They destroy the pests and weeds that are essential for the wildlife of this ecologically delicate island. Not enough is understood about the issues of cross-contamination in the small-scale farming systems of countries such as the UK.
However both juries concluded that some of the conventional farming techniques used at the moment are just as damaging as the potential effects that would arise from the introduction of current GM technologies.
FOOD SAFETY - Not enough is known about the potential health effects of GM foods for them to be on sale. The UK Government should therefore stop GM foods, or products from animals that have been fed on GM, from being on sale. Both juries also suggested that Government-funded bodies such as the Food Standards Agency should carry out more research on the safety of GM foods, especially the potential effects of antibiotic-resistant markers.
LABELLING - There should be an immediate labelling of anything that might contain any GM, or parts of an animal or plant that has been fed on GM.
FARMING - If GM goes ahead as it is presently constituted, it will increase corporate control of agriculture and the dependency of farmers on corporations. It will also increase the power of the rich countries over the Third World.
The jury made the following conclusions:
- There are only limited economic benefits to GM except for large farmers
- There seem to be only negative impacts for small farmers who find themselves unable to pay for continued use of the technology and get forced out of the market
- Large scale farming may be more efficient, but it can lead to the loss of self-sufficiency for communities and makes them susceptible to price-crashes
- The only possible consumer benefit, which can be seen, is a possible reduction in prices
- The cost of research and development is high for GM companies therefore they may exert pressure on governments to accept the technology
- The technology is being developed in too much of a rush
LIABILITY - Both juries thought that there should be legislation in the UK and elsewhere to ensure that there is a more equal sharing of liability between farmers, who are currently liable for any negative environmental or agricultural impacts of GM, and the GM corporations. A minority of the jury thought that all the liability should be transferred to the GM companies.
THIRD WORLD - Global hunger is a problem of distribution and affordability of food. Vitamin-enhanced foods may have a role in addressing global hunger, but the UK Department for International Development, and international agencies such as the UN need to prioritise distribution of seeds that already exist, as well as money and food.
The jury also felt that the UK Department for International Development, United Nations, World Health Organisation, Food and Agriculture Organisation and other agencies should re-focus research on Third World needs rather than corporate needs.
In addition, the UK GM Juries have raised issues that have not formed a part of previous citizen deliberations on these issues:
GOVERNMENT HANDLING OF THE GM DEBATE - The Government's GM Nation public debate has been invisible. None of the jury had heard details of this Government process, or how they could take part, before they arrived at the jury, even though the public debate had been launched several weeks earlier.
For more information, and to download the full report, visit www.gmjury.org
