Genetic Modification of crops - the debate

The European Parliament enacted legislation in July 2003 which will allow GM foods to be sold in the UK and other European countries for the first time in five years, as long as the products concerned are clearly labelled. Under the new law all foods and animal feeds, the content of which is more than a 0.9 per cent genetically modified, will have to be labelled. The changes in the law have been approved in principle by EU governments, and could take effect as early as 2004. The European Parliament partly acted in response to a suit against the EU's moratorium on the production, import and sale of GM food - imposed in 1998 - which had been filed with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by the US and several other countries. In the WTO suit, the US and other governments argued that the EU moratorium was an unfair barrier to trade. Under the new EU regime, however, national governments will be allowed to impose restrictions on the way GM crops are grown to ensure there is no cross-contamination with conventional crops.

In a further development in August 2003, however, the US, Egypt and several other governments announced that they would continue action in the WTO against the EU over the issue of GM foods despite the EU's commitment to end the moratorium on GM foods. The US and other governments argued that the labelling requirements imposed in the new EU regime amounted to a further barrier to trade.

The Council's response to the GM national debate

Will the introduction of GM technologies have unforeseen consequences and lead to the creation of super weeds which are immune to herbicides? Is this potential danger outweighed by potential increases in productivity which could eliminate world starvation?

The Government initiated a nationwide public debate - GM Nation? - the public debate on the benefits and disadvantages of GM technology. A series of meetings, organised by local authorities, community groups and individuals were held throughout the UK in July 2003. A public meeting, organised by the Isle of Wight Council, took place on July 2. Members of the public were invited to make their contribution to the debate by filling out an on-line feedback form on the government's GM debate website or by filling out hard copy versions of the form which were available from County Hall in Newport or from Town or Parish Councils. The closing date for the return of feedback was July 18 2003.

The recommendation that there should be a national debate was contained in a report, Crops on Trial, published by the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission (AEBC) in September 2001. The report concluded that "It will be crucial for the public to be involved in the important decisions which need to be taken. We have to find a way to foster informed public discussion of the development and application of new technologies." The public debate will run in parallel with a review of the science behind GM issues and a study of the overall costs and benefits associated with the growing of GM crops.

Following the public debate held in Newport in July, the Council submitted a formal response to the government's consultation which represented the majority of the views on the issue which had been received at that time by the Council.

Resources

• An alternative view on the GM debate is available from the Greenpeace site. Greenpeace has an online petition to the EU Commission and the UK Government demanding that GM be kept out of seeds.
• Further information is also available from Monsanto, the leading producer of GM seed varieties.
• You can still contribute to the Isle of Wight Council's GM forum.