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The case against GM crops

The case against GM crops. Alissa Cook policy officer Soil Association. Areas of concern in regards to GM. Do we know enough about GE to allow GM food into the food chain. What are the benefits of GM crops to the farming community?

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The case against GM crops

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  1. The case against GM crops Alissa Cook policy officer Soil Association

  2. Areas of concern in regards to GM • Do we know enough about GE to allow GM food into the food chain. • What are the benefits of GM crops to the farming community? • Can GM crops benignly co-exist with non-GM and organic production?

  3. Do we know enough? • Entering areas of science where there is still limited knowledge. • We don’t know how natural genetic processes work. • Science Review Panel: officially acknowledges the levels of uncertainty and gaps in knowledge.

  4. Impact on health • Feeding trials only way to test impact but very few have been done. • A level of testing is carried out by companies -very little independent studies to verify the results. • Only 10 published studies into the health effects of GM.

  5. Impact on environment • Results of FSE provide an insight • GM sugar beet and oilseed rape cause decline in wild plants and invertebrates > RSPB say should ban. • GM maize caused increase in weeds and some invertebrate species. But it was compared to system that was using a banned chemical. • Trials only evaluated one year of planting, problems emerge after a few years.

  6. Impact on environment (cont..) • A recent study from Canada reports that GM Herbicide Tolerant oilseed rape is now one of the 10 top agricultural weeds. • Farmers now use herbicide mixtures of RoundUp and more toxic products e.g 2,4-D to “clean” fields.

  7. Do GM crops live up to expectation? • Higher yields? • Cleaner fields? • Reduced herbicide use? • Reduced pesticide use? • Higher profits? • Why is the acreage of GM crops increasing?

  8. Can GM crops benignly co-exist with non-GM production? • GM contamination has occurred throughout the food chain. • Means that GM crops are more problematic for the non-GM farmer.

  9. Can GM crops co-exist with non-GM production? (cont.) • A survey conducted in Canada suggests that in regions where GM oilseed rape is grown, 97% of all certified OSR seed is now contaminated. • Canada has lost it’s organic OSR market and US farmers are struggling to supply non-GM maize markets.

  10. Can GM crops co-exist with non-GM production? (cont.) • GM contamination has led to costly product recalls - the Starlink case is estimated to have cost the US $ 1 billion. • farmers have also been accused of having infringed company patents.

  11. Is there a market for GM crops in the UK? • Surveys suggest not. • Results of the GM public debate • 95% worried about GM contamination • 93% believe not enough is know about long health effects • 86% are unhappy with the idea of eating GM foods and only 8% are happy to eat GM food. • GM crops will undermine consumer choice.

  12. Conclusion • With the level of uncertainty why rush into growing GM crops. • Gloucestershire has a mixed and varied agriculture which shapes the countryside. • According to EC July 2003 recommendation; “ measures of regional dimension could be considered… if sufficient levels of purity cannot be achieved by other means”.

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