Lincs GM probe

7 December 2001




Lincs GM probe

CLAIMS that genetically modified weeds are growing illegally in Lincolnshire are being investigated by the governments GM watchdog.

The GM Inspectorate was called in after Friends of the Earth complained about oilseed rape "volunteers" that have grown from seeds spilled at harvest time. The field at Witham on the Hill, near Grantham, had been used in the governments GM farm scale evaluations by the biotechnology company Aventis.

FOE campaigners have written to DEFRA secretary, Margaret Beckett, urging her to order the destruction of the weeds and to prosecute Aventis. They claims Aventis is legally responsible for ensuring that the weeds do not survive to the flowering stage when they could contaminate other plants.

But an Aventis spokesman insisted the company is not breaking the rules, which he said do not require the plants to be destroyed until the new year. "In our opinion there is no non-compliance issue whatsoever. But we are not taking the complaint lightly and we are investigating it with the government," he said.


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