Think twice before going genetic, warns RASE


02 December 1998


Think twice before going genetic, warns RASE

By FWi staff

FARMERS have been urged to question the benefits promised by genetically modified (GM) crops in a new booklet which likens biotech companies to the tobacco industry.

The booklet, produced by the Royal Agricultural Society of England, aims to raise the quality of the debate surrounding the use of genetic engineering in agriculture.

“Farmers would do well to stand back and ask whether they cannot reap the benefits offered by GM crops by using other techniques,” says a contribution from science writer and broadcaster Jeremy Cherfas.

Despite widespread consumer resistance to GM food, Mr Cherfas says that GM technology will continue to develop until more is known about whether it is safe.

“As long as there is some uncertainty, the biotech industry, like the tobacco industry before it, will be able to keep operating.”

The booklet, titled Old Crops in New Bottles?, contains five other papers which detail the science behind GM crops and safety concerns expressed by farmers and consumers.

A contribution from Ray Mathias of the John Innes Research Centre, Norwich, concludes that GM science will contribute to economically and environmentally sustainable farming.

Wiltshire farmer Robert Lawton writes that the world needs to continuously grow more, from fewer resources.

But farmers must be totally satisfied about the long and short term safety before growing GM crops, he says.

GM crops must also reduce unit costs without increasing risk and without undue interference from plant breeders and seed suppliers, writes Mr Lawton.

“In the meantime, the requirement to address public concerns through totally transparent safety mechanisms is paramount,” he says.

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