Government in chaos over GM seeds

Government GM policy was in chaos today when Ministers requested that a public hearing into GM crops be postponed indefinitely.

The hearing was called to hear objections to a Government proposal to allow a type of GM maize to be sold to farmers. Friends of the Earth has called on Aventis, the seed company that owns the GM seed, to withdraw its application.

The postponement call follows revelations that official basic tests on Chardon LL, a type of GM maize, had only been conducted for one year by the French authorities rather than the two required under EU law. The UK Government is now waiting for guidance from the EU Commission, as the defects in the French testing regime have serious EU-wide implications.

The revelation that test data hasn't met legal requirements only came to light after Friends of the Earth and members of the public forced the Government to hold a public hearing into the proposed listing of Chardon LL. During the hearing, expert scientific witnesses have produced evidence that casts severe doubt over the validity of allowing the seed to be listed. They include concerns over the failure to test the GM maize on cows, and suspicious higher death rates among chickens eating the GM maize during trials.

"Once again the Government's GM policy is in chaos. This is a desperate effort to buy time to sort out this mess with the Commission and the biotech industry," said Friends of the Earth Legal Advisor, Peter Roderick. "But even if this latest mistake hadn't occurred we think the weight of scientific evidence against listing is overwhelming. Events should fall on its sword, concede defeat and withdraw its application."