Britain to support commercial GE crops in Europe

11.45am

LONDON - The British government has been accused of "caving in" to the United States and big business after leaked letters revealed it plans to support the commercial growing of genetically modified crops in Europe.

A five-year moratorium on the commercial use of GE technology in Europe, which has been a bone of contention between the EU and America, ends next year. Although the results of GE crop trials in Britain are not due to be published until next month, the letters reveal the Government is prepared to back moves in Brussels to ban GE-free zones and allow the "co-existence" of GE with conventional crops.

A September 5 letter from Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett to Cabinet colleagues indicated she will support EU proposals at a meeting of EU agriculture ministers at the end of the month.

She wrote: "I am proposing that we broadly support the (European) Commission's guidelines as providing a reasonable basis to address the issue." She attached a summary of the EU rules, which state "no form of agriculture (conventional, organic, GE) should be excluded from the EU".

In reply, Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt stated: "I agree that our interests are best served by giving broad support to the Commission guidelines. We must also bear in mind the potential impact on EU-US relations."

But Friends of the Earth GE campaigner Clare Oxborrow said: "The Government's consultation on GE crops revealed they are unnecessary, unpopular and offer no economic benefit. But, despite this overwhelming thumbs-down, they still seem determined to press ahead with their commercialisation. If this happens it will lead to extensive contamination and take away people's right to choose GE-free food. There is widespread support throughout Britain and the EU for GE-free zones, and European law allows this.

"The Government should back UK local authorities which are using legislation to protect their food, farming and environment from GE contamination, rather than caving in to pressure from the US government and its biotech backers."

Shadow trade and industry secretary Tim Yeo added: "Allowing commercial planting of GE crops while scientific doubts remain about their environmental impact is bad science, bad business and bad for the environment. Ministers are being pressed by their friends in business to make a decision before the full analysis has been completed.

Liberal Democrat agriculture spokesman Andrew George said: "This leak confirms the Government has made up its mind in favour of GE, pre-judging the outcome of their own farm-scale trials that are not going to report until the end of October."

A Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesman declined to comment on the leaked correspondence but he stressed that all EU member states would have to reach agreement before any GE crop could be cultivated commercially, and there was no expectation that any crop would come up for discussion until next year.

"So no decision has been taken either on coexistence or on commercial growing," the spokesman said.

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