GM crops: UK scientists call for new trials

The Council for Science and Technology (CST) wants "public good" GM varieties to be grown and tested in the UK. It says GM crops should be assessed individually - like pharmaceuticals - taking potential benefits into account, BBC News reports. A new UK regulator similar to NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) should be set up, it says. The UK is a world leader in plant biotechnology research, but GM field trial applications have fallen from 37 in 1995 to just one in 2012. Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has spoken in favour of increasing UK research into GM, which he said offers the "most wonderful opportunities to improve human health." The CST was asked by Prime Minister David Cameron for the latest evidence on the risks and benefits of GM technologies in agriculture, and for advice on UK and EU regulation. In turn, it commissioned a group of leading plant scientists from Rothamsted Research, The Sainsbury Laboratory and Cambridge University to make recommendations to the prime minister. The scientists say they are being held back by strict EU regulations - based on the principle that GM crops are inherently more dangerous than conventionally-bred varieties. Only two GM varieties have been licensed for commercial harvest in Europe - despite the fact that 12% of the world's arable land is cultivating GM crops. The CST report argues GM crops have now been shown to be safe - and may be necessary in future for Britain to grow its own food supply, rather than depending on imports. It says the UK should regulate commercial GM varieties of wheat and potatoes based on their individual benefits and risks - rather than follow the EU's blanket approach. It also recommends a new programme of publicly-funded field trials to test "public good" GM crop varieties, which it calls "PubGM". "Public good" traits could include nutritional enhancement, such asantioxidants in tomatoes, or vitamin A in "Golden Rice". They could also include "climate-proofing" properties such as drought resistance or heat resistance. "With PubGM, seed companies, consumers and regulators will be able to decide, based on results of experiments, whether a GM trait has proved its worth in UK crops under UK conditions," said Professor Jonathan Jones from The Sainsbury Laboratory, one of the report's authors. Read more