You WILL learn to eat GM crops

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Published: 16 May 2007

You WILL learn to eat GM crops

After public consultation (the results and details of which don’t seem to be readily available), Defra says that it has now given approval for a site in East Yorkshire to be used by BASF for its GM potato trials programme.

The statutory approval is valid until 2011. BASF will not proceed with trials at the East Yorkshire site this year, but may do so in future years.

Last December Defra gave approval to BASF to undertake research trials of a GM disease-resistant potato at a site in Cambridge.

The BASF application for the East Yorkshire site has been evaluated by the independent expert group the Advisory Committee of Releases to the Environment (ACRE) and it is satisfied that trials at this site will not result in any adverse effect on human health or the environment.

The GM potato developed by BASF is resistant to late potato blight. This can be a significant disease problem for UK potato growers, who normally combat it by applying chemical fungicides.

The purpose of the research trials is to test the effectiveness of the potato's resistance against UK pathotypes of the disease. Similar trials are already underway in other European countries.

Reflecting ACRE's advice, precautionary conditions have been attached to the statutory consent for the trials.

These aim to ensure that GM material does not persist at the trial sites. The harvested GM potatoes will not be used for food or animal feed.

Further information

Details of the BASF application, ACRE's advice and the statutory consent document (Ref: 07/R42/01) can be found HERE.

ACRE general advice website

GM Inspectorate

Biodiversity effects of management associated with GM cropping systems

Defra GM website

Managing the Footprint of Agriculture: Towards a Comparative Assessment of Risks and Benefits of Novel Agricultural Systems

GM Nation website

Food Future

Friends of the Earth