§ Lord Beaumont of Whitleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether British farmers could be sued or prosecuted for having, without intent, genetically modified plants among their crops, as is the case in Canada; and, if so, what steps they intend to take to prevent this. [HL3944]
§ Lord WhittyNo genetically modified plant may be cultivated in the UK or the EU unless it is authorised for such use on safety grounds under European Directive 2001/18/EC. A GM plant may also need authorisation under EU seeds, novel foods and/or pesticides legislation as appropriate. In the case ofauthorised GM plants being used in accordance with the terms of the relevant consents, a farmer would not commit a statutory offence by cultivating such plants, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
If it were suspected that unauthorised GM plants were being cultivated by a farmer, the relevant authorities would decide in each case whether they considered an offence to have been committed, and whether to prosecute. If the farmer in question could show that the unauthorised cultivation had occurred without his or her knowledge or intent, and that they had had no reason to expect this, this would be taken into account in deciding whether or not to prosecute. It would be an absolute defence to prosecution for the farmer to show that he had taken all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid 83WA commission of the offence. If there was a prosecution, it would be for the trial court to determine whether an offence had in fact occurred.
The possibility of a successful civil legal action—for example by a seed company against a farmer—would depend on demonstrating to the satisfaction of a court that a legal duty owed by one person to another had been breached. The act of accidentally planting an authorised GM plant would only therefore give rise to such an action if, in the circumstances of the particular case, that also resulted in the farmer breaching some other legal duty owed to another person. It would be for the parties concerned to decide, on the basis of their legal advice, whether to commence legal proceedings on that basis and it would be for the courts to decide on the outcome of those proceedings.
The Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission is due to submit a report to the Government this summer that explores the issue of liability in relation to GM crops. We will assess the possible need for further action in this area in the light of that report.