Advanta to sue MAFF over GM fiasco?
19 July 2000
Advanta to sue MAFF over GM fiasco?
By FWi staff
ADVANTA Seeds, the company at the centre of the GM-contaminated seed scandal, is considering suing the government.
About 4700ha (11,600 acres) of oilseed rape were sown this spring by up to 600 producers after Advanta inadvertently supplied farmers with GM-contaminated seed.
Appearing before the all-party agricultural select committee on Tuesday (18 July) the company defended itself vigorously, reports the Financial Times.
In evidence to MPs, Advanta insisted it had broken no laws or regulations, and had acted “swiftly, openly and responsibly”.
The company revealed it was considering its legal position following an intervention by farm minister Nick Brown, who told the media the contaminated crop should be ploughed up.
Advanta had planned to segregate the crop and harvest it for export, but subsequently agreed to pay around 1.7 million in compensation to farmers.
It accused the ministry of agriculture and most of the media of lacking “an understanding of the basics of agriculture”.
Advanta European Affairs Director Dr David Buckeridge told the committee it was doubtful that trace-level GM contamination could be prevented.
The company criticised the government for failing to introduce regulations to cover GM impurities in conventional crops, and called for a 1% threshold.
Advanta said the seed, which was grown in Canada, had been separated from GM crops by 4km (2.5 miles) – five times the legal minimum required under Canadian law.
This admission was seized upon by environmental group Friends of the Earth, which said this showed that UK buffer zones of 50-200m were wholly inadequate.
But environment minister Michael Meacher told the committee it had not been proven that pollen from 4km away was responsible for the contamination, reports The Independent.
Junior agriculture minister Baroness Hayman said she had no record of the seed industry approaching the government about thresholds.
She added that the EU hoped to set a voluntary interim agreement soon, with detailed legislation in December.
- Advanta announces GM payout, FWi, 05 July, 2000
- The GM seed fiasco – news roundup, FWi, 17-30 May, 2000
- Financial Times 19/07/2000 page 6
- The Independent 19/07/2000 page 5