UK government heeds caution on GMO crops

The eagerly awaited results of a three year study into the environmental impact of GMO crops carried out on behalf of the UK government will bring about further regulation after specific concerns were raised on certain crops.

The investigation has been the largest of its kind anywhere in the world and as a consequence is expected to become a major reference point for many world governments still not certain what position to take on the matter. In turn, such decisions will dictate how much of a part GMO ingredients will play in future food manufacturing and just how regulated their usage will be.

Defra​, the UK government's environment ministry, announced that more stringent conditions would be applied to future GM crop trials, following the discovery of additional GM material at testing grounds, known as Farm Scale Evaluation (FSE) sites, during the summer of last year.

Following this incident, the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) was asked to review the inspection and enforcement regime for GM crop research trials. It has recommended that a number of additional conditions be placed on consents for future trials, placing the onus, and cost, on those undertaking such trials.

In particular, ACRE said that it would require detailed descriptions of the conditions under which seeds are produced as part of all applications for research consents, and in some cases independent validation by the GM Inspectorate of seed purity will be required. It would then recommend different inspection procedures depending on the conditions under which seeds are produced. Further to this, the UK government said that it had accepted all of ACRE's recommendations.

ACRE carried out tests on specific types of GM crops: maize, sugar beet and oilseed. The results varied according to each crop, further complicating the decision on future regulations. The tests found that the impact on the environment from maize was minimal, whilst both sugar beet and oilseed did prove harmful to wildlife.

The government also confirmed today that, following investigation of the incident by the GM Inspectorate and advice from expert advisory committees, no prosecution in England will be taken against BayerCropSciences (formerly Aventis), the company concerned. In Scotland, the final decision on whether or not to prosecute will be taken by the Procurator Fiscal, to whom the issue is being referred.

Environment and Agri-environment Minister Elliot Morley commented: "I welcome the fact our systems have identified the presence of unauthorised seed. We are determined to have effective systems in place to ensure consumer choice whatever the future of GM in this country. It is a global product and we must have systems of control to ensure seed purity and consumer choice."​

Although the trials have been heralded as highly comprehensive, they have also come in for some criticism for not focusing enough on the impact on consumer health, cross-pollination with plants, harmful effects on the soil and the threat of superweeds. The trials themselves were hampered by demonstrations, too, with test crops being damaged on a number of occasions.

The results of the report have been heralded as a boost for anti-GM groups, especially as on the eve of the report's publication US biotechnology compny Monsanto announced that it was closing its European headquarters, based in the UK, with the loss of some 80 jobs. The company said that it blamed the closure on the failure of the growth of the hybrid wheat seed market in Europe.