Genetically Modified Crops (Hansard, 10 February 2000)

§ Mr. Meacher

The farm scale evaluation programme is now starting its second year. The studies are designed to evaluate the impact on farmland wildlife of the management of herbicide tolerant GM crops, with their associated herbicide, as compared with equivalent non-GM crops managed conventionally. The ecological studies are being funded by the UK Government and carried out by independent contractors on fields of GM and conventional crops provided by the industry body SCIMAC. The studies are being overseen by an independent Scientific Steering Committee reporting to the Secretary of State.

The first year of the farm scale evaluations included plantings of oil seed rape and fodder maize in the spring, followed in the autumn by winter oil seed rape. The Scientific Steering Committee reported at the end of the first year that the methodology of the farm scale evaluations was scientifically robust, and gave a firm base from which to proceed to full-scale trials this year. A further announcement about this year's sites will be made shortly.

In November 1999, a renewed agreement between Government and the industry body SCIMAC on the conduct of the farm scale evaluations was reached, to cover the three years through to harvest of crops planted in 2002, including agreement that no general unrestricted cultivation of GM crops will take place in the UK until the farm-scale evaluations are complete. Under the renewed agreement, the farm scale evaluations are likely to be extended in scope this year to cover a further crop, GM beet, dependent on the advice of the Scientific Steering Committee on the scope and validity under UK conditions of similar trials being carried out in Denmark.

The fields grown for this year's trials will also be used to monitor the gene flow between the GM and non-GM crops to determine the depth of cross pollination.