This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Advice on GM farm scale evaluation results
13/01/2004
The conclusions of the Government's statutory advisors
on the implications of the GM farm scale evaluation (FSE)
results were welcomed today by Deputy Environment Minister
Allan Wilson.
The Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment
(ACRE) have considered fully the results published in
October 2003 on the possible cultivation of GM herbicide
tolerant crops in the UK. Following publication, the
committee met with the Deputy Minister and took further
evidence and views at public meetings in Edinburgh and
London.
The Committee's advice is that adverse environmental
impacts would result from the cultivation of GMHT beet and
spring-sown oilseed rape if grown in a similar way to those
in the farm-scale evaluations.
ACRE also concluded that there was no evidence of
environmental degradation resulting from the cultivation of
GMHT maize under the conditions employed in the farm scale
trials.
Advice has also been received from the British statutory
nature conservation agencies, including Scottish Natural
Heritage.
Welcoming ACRE's report, Mr Wilson, said:
"The Scottish Executive have consistently taken a
precautionary approach to GM crops. The farm scale
evaluation programme which concluded in autumn last year-
the most extensive of its kind - is an example of this
precautionary approach in action.
"The Executive welcomes the expert advice of ACRE and
the statutory conservation bodies on the implications of
these results for the 'case-by-case' assessment of GM
herbicide tolerant crops.
"In particular I welcome the fact that Scottish
stakeholders were afforded the opportunity to actively
participate in ACRE's consideration of these important
results, and I am grateful to all those who participated
through the open meeting in Edinburgh.
"No decisions on the commercial cultivation of GM crops
in Scotland have been taken. Ministers will now consider
very carefully the implications of this advice along with
the results of the public debate, the costs and benefits
study and the science review for our future policy on
GM."
The Government sponsored farm scale evaluations have
investigated over a three year period how the growing of
herbicide resistant GM crops might affect the abundance and
diversity of farmland wildlife, compared with the growing
of conventional varieties of the same crops.
The results for the spring sown crops were were
published in The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society on the 16 October 2003. These were referred to the
statutory Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment
(ACRE) and to the nature conservation agencies, for their
advice. The results for the autumn sown crops are expected
to be published later this year.
ACRE received over 60 submissions of evidence from
stakeholders, they included contributions from the main
industry groups and NGOs as well as from farmers and
members of the public. 14 submissions were selected to be
heard at two public open meetings, one of which was in
Edinburgh.
The selection of submissions was made to provide a range
of opinions concerning the implications of the FSE results
with a focus on submissions that the Committee felt
addressed issues important for their deliberations.
Decisions on whether or not to permit the cultivation of
GM crops in the European Union are taken collectively by
Member States after a thorough assessment of the specific
GM crop concerned and its potential impact on human health
and the environment, in accordance with the procedures in
Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release into the
environment of GMOs.