Greenpeace today (24th September) called on Tony Blair to drop his push for GM crops in Britain after the Government's nation-wide consultation revealed that the public doesn't want the controversial technology. The results of the 'GM Nation?' debate show the essential rejection of GM. The government launched the 'GM Nation?' exercise amid allegations that Downing Street was ignoring huge public disquiet over the proposed genetic modification of food and crops.
Over the summer two other Government reports raised serious doubts about the wisdom of proceeding with the commercial growing of GM. Extensive research from the Strategy Unit in the Cabinet Office found no compelling economic benefits to Britain from GM, while the Science Review led by David King, the Government's Chief Scientist acknowledged significant gaps in the knowledge about GM crops and their impact on the environment and human health.
Public attitudes towards GM crops and food have been negative for many years, as demonstrated by numerous opinion polls conducted by the EU and others since 1993, focus groups research in 1996, and rejection at the supermarket shelves by consumers in 1999, continuing up to the present. Last month Greenpeace along with Unilever, Consumers Association and Co-op supermarket funded a citizens jury to deliberate at length about the merits of GM in the food chain, hearing from experts on all sides of the debate. Their deliberations led to a decisive rejection of GM food in its current form.
Greenpeace campaigner Charlie Kronick said: "What's significant about 'GM Nation?' is that the Government has made a commitment to act on the results. When will Tony Blair acknowledge that even Government scientists and economists can't make a compelling case for GM? Only one thing is absolutely clear: GM crops aren't wanted or needed in the UK or anywhere else."
The last major report on GM this year, the results of farm scale trials of GM crops, will be published on 16 October. The trials only examine the effect of weedkillers on wildlife. The key issues of cross-pollination, contamination of the global food chain, gene transfer and effects on human health remain unexplored and will not be looked at by these trials.
