LONDON: The future of GM crops in Europe has been in the balance for some time, but that balance is now tilted more in favour of the anti-GM lobby following the results of a government-sponsored consultation process last week.

The consultation showed a British public overwhelmingly opposed to genetically modified (GM) crops. That finding is now set to have major implications for a European Union (EU) policy on these crops, officials and activists say.

“Britain is working within the EU to develop a view on GM foods as the EU prepares to take a stand on the issue,” Doug Parr from Greenpeace told IPS. “The results of the survey present a huge political problem for the British government. Many members of the British government are very enthusiastic about GM crops, and now it will be very difficult for them to go ahead with commercialisation of these crops.”

The public opposition to GM crops means that politically Britain could be set for a head-on collision with the United States on this issue. “There is considerable pressure from the United States,” says Parr. “We have documented cases to show that a lot of arm-twisting and bullying is going on. We know of these things happening with governments in Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Egypt and many others.”

Britain is in the forefront now of both scientific and public studies on GM crops. “Britain will play a significant role in setting EU policy, and the European Commission (EC, the executive arm of the EU) will rely considerably on Britain in setting its policy,” Parr says. “So if Britain takes a more negative approach, it will have knock-on implications for the EU.”

The government has not offered an official response to the report yet. But Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Margaret Beckett has said she will reflect carefully on the findings of the debate. “We said that we will listen, and we will,” she said.

The survey came up with critical pointers. It suggests that people are generally uneasy about GM; the more people engage in GM issues, the harder their attitudes and more intense their concerns; there is little support for early commercialisation; there is widespread mistrust of government and multinational companies; there is broad desire to know more and for more research to be done; and that developing countries have special interests.

It was a new kind of consultation where people could ask questions during interviews, open meetings and focus groups, and were given new information as they went.

The survey titled ‘GM Nation?’ first encouraged people to fill in a questionnaire, and 36,557 forms were returned. In all 54 per cent said outright they never want to see GM crops grown in Britain. A further 18 per cent would find GM crops acceptable only if there was no risk of cross-contamination, and 13 per cent wanted more research before any decision was made. Only two per cent said that GM crops were acceptable “in any circumstances” and only eight per cent were happy to eat GM food (86 per cent were not).

The survey showed that as people were given more information about GM foods, their attitude against such crops hardened. The information was given by independent groups that sought to distance themselves both from the anti-GM lobby and from the champions of GM foods.

“There must not be any more weasel words from the government on this issue,” says Pete Riley from Friends of the Earth. “It must stand up to US and corporate lobbying, honour the findings of its own consultation, and rule out the commercialization of GM crops.”

The debate arose from a recommendation in a government report ‘Crops on Trial’ published in September 2001. It was jointly funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Department for Trade and Industry and the Devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

“The government is neither pro- nor anti-GM,” Defra said in a statement. “It is genuinely open-minded. It wants informed choice backed up by sound evidence.” The debate, it said, “was managed at arm’s length from government by an independent steering board.”

The consultation is expected to be a critical factor now in guiding debate and setting policy. The EU is expected to take a decision next year whether individual GM crops can be grown commercially. The consultation report has come as a considerable setback for Monsanto, the US company that has taken the lead in developing GM crops, and for the US government, which has backed the company closely.

Anti-GM activists are now preparing a new anti-GM campaign ahead of farm trials over GM crops under way. Three crops sown in spring are being monitored. The results of this survey will be published on October 16 “and will then be considered by the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE), who will provide independent advice to ministers,” Defra says in a statement.

There will further be a report from the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission (AEBC) on whether GM and non-GM crops can co-exist. The AEBC is exploring co-existence measures such as crop separation distances, and also looking at questions of liability, Defra says. This report is due shortly.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service.