§ Lord Joplingasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which specific scientific papers led the Prime Minister to say that there is cause for legitimate public concern about genetically modified food. [HL1283]
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Baroness Hayman)The Government recognise the public's desire for reassurance and a precautionary approach on the environmental, ethical and health aspects of genetic modification technology. That is why our view has been, and continues to be, that we should proceed cautiously and ensure that we have robust regulatory regimes in place based on sound science. The recent OECD conference, hosted by the UK in Edinburgh, provided a forum for a range of scientific views on these issues to be debated.