Genetic modification (GM) the facts

GM - The Facts (LEAFLET)
A leaflet published by the Soil Association, January, 2003:

What is GM?

Genetic modification (GM) involves the artificial insertion of a foreign gene into the genetic material of an organism in an essentially random way.

There are currently two main types of genetically modified crops, those engineered to be resistant to herbicides in order to kill weeds and those engineered to produce toxins to kill pests.

GM crops were first grown in 1996 in the US. Three quarters of the world's GM crops are now grown in the US and Canada. The main GM crops in the US are soya and maize and in Canada it is oilseed rape.

Breakthrough or uncontrollable Nightmare?

GM agriculture has been heralded as a breakthrough for the world. Its advocates claim it yields higher crops, uses fewer herbicides and pesticides (and is therefore kinder to the environment), and can provide a solution to world hunger.

Seeds of Doubt, a report published last September by the Soil Association, reports or the experiences of the only continent to have wholeheartedly embraced the technology - North America. The evidence we set out suggests that, in reality, almost every benefit claimed for GM crops has not happened and many problems have occurred.

Fact! GM does not increase yields. Reports from farmers of substantially reduced harvests have been substantiated by scientific studies. The US government now admits that GM crops do not increase yields.
Fact! GM does not reduce herbicide use. GM volunteers' (plants that appear after harvest with built-in resistance to herbicides) have spread quickly. Farmers are spraying with more herbicides, sometimes reverting to older, more toxic chemicals in their efforts to control these.
Fact! Contamination of the whole food chain has occurred within a couple of years.
Fact! In one province of Canada, Saskatchewan, GM contamination has wiped out the whole organic oilseed rape sector. GM and organic cannot co-exist.
Fact! The recall of foods containing GM StarLink maize cost an estimated $1 billion and only happened after many people reported allergic reactions.
Fact! GM crops have destroyed trade. Within a couple of years the US and Canada lost over $600 million a year of agricultural exports due to GM crops, making their farmers even more dependent on subsidies.

Health Concerns

Though GMOs have been marketed for several years, scientific knowledge of the processes involved are actually at a very early stage. Very little is known about the side effects of the inserted genes' random location, how gene function is controlled, and gene transfer into other micro-organisms such as the bacteria in the human gut. The British Medical Association has said the potential adverse effects have not been sufficiently investigated and strongly recommended caution. Why take the risk?

Can GM feed the World?

No. GM seeds are expensive, can reduce yields and are often dependent on specific chemicals. Small farmers will need loans to buy them (as they have done for chemicals) and debt and dependency on large agrochemical companies will continue. Poverty is considered a main cause of hunger. Oxfam and Christian Aid have both warned that GM crops could intensity poverty in the developing world.

What the Papers say

British scientific researchers have demonstrated for the first time that genetically modified DNA material from crops is finding its way into human gut bacteria, raising potentially serious health problems. Michael Antoniou, a senior lecturer in molecular genetics at King's College Medical School, London, last night said that the work was significant. "They have shown that this can happen even at very low levels after just one meal."

The results, in a new government report, show - for the first time in Britain - that genes from GM crops are interbreeding on a large scale with conventional ones, and also with weeds. The report is so devastating to the government's case for GM crops that ministers last week sought to bury it by slipping the first information on it out on the DEFRA website on Christmas Eve (2002?), the one day in the year when no newspapers are being prepared.

A new government-funded review on the safety and usefulness of GM crops will ignore the results of Britain's GM field trials. The review is launched today and chaired by the government's chief scientist, Professor David King. It is being presented as independent, although the panel holds representatives from Monsanto and Syngenta.

Britain's top aid charities have told the prime minister that genetically modified foods will not solve world hunger, but may actually increase poverty and malnutrition. The joint submission to the government's official debate on GM crops and foods is signed by the directors of Oxfam, Christian Aid, Save the Children, Cafod and Action Aid.

It's wicked, when there is so much non-GM food aid available. We have the means to assist, but we are playing politics over GM.

Soil Association response

In the coming months we plan to:

Print and distribute thousands more copies of our Seeds of Doubt report, which details the disastrous effects of commercial planting of GM crops in North America.
Promote our second GM report which focuses on the issues of GM cotton now being introduced in India. Biotechnology companies, facing stiff opposition in Europe, are targeting less-well resourced countries in the hope that GMOs will spread irreversibly before public opinion has time to intervene.
Organize a UK-wide tour for North American farmers anxious to provide personal accounts of their experiences of GM crops. These views are only now starting to be heard in the US, and need to be heard by politicians and the public here too.
Work directly with the government's strategy unit to highlight the economic consequences of GM crops in North America. We have been appointed to one of their advisory panels and have already provided input into a series of government consultations on GMOs. We must continue to get the facts to the decision-makers
Challenge the legal position on liability so that the GM companies can be held responsible if an organic farmer loses a crop, or if a whole species gets wiped out. At the moment weaknesses in UK law that mean there would be no legal redress
Co-ordinate a strong public awareness programme through regional meetings, press articles, and radio and television interviews, and build our list of supporters prepared to write to the government expressing their concerns.

Support the Soil Association TODAY!
Widespread commercial planting of GM crops in this country may begin as early as July. If you are opposed to this, please support the Soil Association today and make sure your voice is heard.

To join or donate please write to the address below, or telephone 0117 914 2447, or visit the Soil Association's website at: www.soilassociation.org

Participate in the public GM debate. This will be the most important opportunity for everyone to express their views on GM crops and GM food to the government. There will be discussions at meetings and on the internet. See www.gmpublicdebate.org.uk

Soil Association
Bristol House,
40-56 Victoria Street,
Bristol. BS1 6BY.
United Kingdom.

Tel: +44 (0) 117 929 0661
Fax:- +44 (0) 117 925 2504
E-mail:- info@soilassociation.org

www.soilassociation.org

Registered charity no: 206862

This is one of a series of documents reprodued by FORESIGHT, the Association for the Promotion of Pre-conceptual Care. The purpose of these documents is to make the great wealth of information that can be found in medical and other scientific journals available to prospective parents, health professionals or anyone else who does not have the time and/or the facilities to read them for themselves.

More:- Foresight Literature Summaries

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