You may be concerned about the impact that GM crops will have on environmental wellness, or your personal wellbeing, but GM crops may be safer than conventional plants. This is according to Environment Secretary Owen Paterson, who noted that GM has significant wellness benefits for farmers, consumers and the environment.
According to Paterson, the next generation of GM crops offers the ‘most wonderful opportunities to improve human health,’ but reluctance in the UK and Europe to adopt GM foods means that we are being left behind while the rest of the world moves forward. ‘The use of more precise technology and the greater regulatory scrutiny probably make GMOs even safer than conventional plants and food,’ he said. ‘The EU chief scientist Anne Glover has said it pretty bluntly – there is no substantiated case of any adverse impact on human health on animal health or on environmental health.’
In a bid to persuade the public, Paterson explained that GM holds a great deal of promise especially in the developing world. Golden Rice, for example, has modified levels of vitamin A which can help prevent blindness in young children in deprived environments. Paterson lamented that this rice has been ready to go since 1999, but we’re still dragging our heels on growing it commercially. He commented, ‘Every attempt to deploy has been thwarted and in that time seven million children have gone blind or died.’
At Rothamsted Research in Harpenden last week, Paterson argued that the government, industry and the scientific community ‘owe a duty to the British public to reassure them GM is a safe, proven and beneficial innovation.’ He added, ‘We need evidence-based regulation and decision-making in the EU. Consumers need accurate information in order to make informed choices. The market should then decide if a GM product is viable. Farmers are also consumers but right now that market is not functioning and they are being denied choice. That’s why I want to explore ways of getting the EU system working, as this will encourage further investment and innovation.’
However, critic Peter Melchett, policy director for Soil Association responded, ‘The British Government constantly claim that GM crops are just one tool in the toolbox for the future of farming. In fact GM is the cuckoo in the nest. It drives out and destroys the systems that international scientists agree we need to feed the world. We need farming that helps poorer African and Asian farmers produce food, not farming that helps Bayer, Syngenta and Monsanto produce profits.’
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