Farmers in Britain could plant their first commercial genetically-modified crops this spring, breaking Europe’s long-standing resistance to the controversial technology.
Paving the way for the breakthrough was a qualified thumbs-up on Tuesday for weedkiller-resistant GM maize, given by an independent panel of advisers to the British government. The final decision now rests with government ministers, said Jules Pretty, deputy chairman of the UK’s Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment.
But two other GM crops were rejected by ACRE. The panel cautioned ministers against approving weedkiller-resistant GM sugar beet and oilseed rape, on the grounds that they suppress growth of weeds vital for farmland wildlife.
“It’s a huge blow to the GM industry,” said Peter Melchett of the Soil Association, a long-standing opponent of GM crops.
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But the industry expressed delight. “ACRE has confirmed that GM crops can be grown in a way that allows weed management to have least impact on farmland biodiversity,” said Bernard Marantelli of the Agricultural Biotechnology Council, a pro-industry lobby group.
Farmland friendly
ACRE’s conclusions were based on the results of the “Farm-Scale Evaluations”. This four-year experiment assessed whether three weedkiller-resistant GM crops were friendlier to farmland wildlife than their conventional counterparts.
The FSE results, published in October 2003, showed that the weeds on which wildlife depend were more plentiful in GM maize plots than in the conventional plots. But the reverse applied to the beet and rape.
ACRE’s advice reflects these findings. “It’s neither a green light nor a death knell for GM crops,” said Pretty. The GM maize should only be approved if farmers are forced to grow it in the same way as in the FSEs, he said, while the negative verdicts on the GM beet and rape only apply if farmers grow them as prescribed in the FSEs.
If the companies developing them prove they can be grown in a “greener” way, which makes them better for wildlife than their conventional counterparts, they could yet gain approval.
Official clearance
UK ministers are expected to decide on maize “by the spring”, said a government spokesman. The glufosinate ammonium weedkiller used with the maize also needs to be officially cleared, and the maize itself needs to be officially “listed” as a crop in the UK.
Environmentalists say the GM maize should not be approved because its impact was compared with that of conventional crops sprayed with atrazine. This environmentally damaging weedkiller is due to be withdrawn in Europe in the next two years, they say, invalidating the comparison.
But Chris Pollock, chairman of ACRE, says that the existing strain of GM maize can only be legally grown in Europe until summer 2006 anyway, making the result against atrazine and ACRE’s advice on it still valid.
He said that by that time, new studies comparing the green credentials of the GM maize with replacements for atrazine should be complete, allowing ACRE to decide whether the GM maize merits renewed approval.
