This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Precautionary measures on GM trials
25/07/2003
The Executive has taken steps to ensure that farmers who
have planted oil seed rape as part of the GM Farm Scale
Trials have been advised not to plant conventional oil seed
rape this year.
This precautionary action follows preliminary findings
of Government commissioned research which shows that seeds
from both conventional and GM oil seed rape crops persist
in the soil longer than previously thought.
The steps are designed to ensure that GM oil seed rape
does not accidentally enter the supply chain and will
reduce the potential for commercial consequences to the
farmers.
The precautionary measure has been agreed between the
Executive, Defra and their independent scientific advisors,
the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment
(ACRE). ACRE - the government's independent GM crops
advisory body - have not raised any environmental or human
health concerns.
Deputy Environment Minister Allan Wilson said:
"Throughout the conduct of these farm scale trials we
have been entirely clear that our first priority is to
protect public health and the environment. There continues
to be no risk to either.
"This action is aimed at preventing GM material from
trial crops turning up in any subsequent conventional crop
and will enable farmers to eradicate any remaining GM
plants with herbicide.
"Farmers taking part in these tests are under a legal
obligation to prevent any GM material whether planted or
adventitious from entering the supply chain. Those involved
in the trials have been reminded of these requirements. We
will continue to monitor and review the position in order
to ensure that these obligations are met.
"These research findings will be taken into account in
our evaluation of the farm scale trials which will in turn
inform future policy on the commercialisation of GM in
Scotland. We will ensure that there are opportunities for
peer review of this research and of the trials and to allow
others, including environmental organisations, to comment
on them.
"No further trials or commercial planting will be
permitted until this process has been completed."
Normal patterns of crop rotation mean that some farmers
who planted rape three years ago, as the trial farmers did,
might now be looking to plant it again. Instead, the
farmers are being encouraged to use other conventional
crops to facilitate the eradication of any persistent GM
plants.
There are no similar concerns with the other GM crops
being trialled in the UK - maize seed cannot survive over
winter in the UK and beet crops are prevented from setting
seed.
The first set of FSE results is to be published by the
Royal Society in September. Following this, ACRE are to
hold an open meeting for stakeholders at which they will be
able to comment on the findings.
The Farm-Scale Evaluations (FSEs) are a three-year
research programme to study what effect, if any, the use of
these weed-killers with the GM Herbicide Tolerant crops
might have on farmland wildlife. The results of the FSEs
are expected to be published in September. 41 farmers
(including four in Scotland) grew oil seed rape which was
harvested between 1999-2001.
The precautionary action taken is based on preliminary
results from government commissioned research projects into
the potential for oil seed rape volunteers. It suggests
that oil seed rape seeds (both GM and conventional) persist
in greater quantities in the ground than had previously
been found. The research will be made public as soon as it
has been finalised and peer reviewed later in the
summer.