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July 19, 1999
Unknown, UKUK Minister tells GM firms - public comes
first
British Environment Minister Michael Meacher warned genetic food
manufacturers on Saturday he would not be pressured into "riding
rough-shod" over safety procedures designed to protect the public interest.
His latest comments came against growing public calls for tighter controls
on the development of GM crops, dubbed "Frankenstein foods" by the British
media.
"I am not prepared to ride rough-shod over the regulatory and scientific
procedures in order to please Monsanto ," he told a conference on the
future of the ruling Labour Party, referring to the U.S. company which has
borne the brunt of the media backlash.
Meacher said the interests of the public and business did not always coincide.
"The job of government ...is to protect the public interest. We do not
believe what is good for Monsanto is good for the world," said the minister.
"I pledge there will be no general planting of GM crops in this country
until or if we reach an authoritative conclusion based on the
evidence...that GM crops cause no material damage," he added.
One recent media report said Meacher's views were being monitored by
American national security agents, leading environmental lobbyist Charles
Secrett of Friends of the Earth to conclude that the U.S. government wanted
to influence Britain's policy on GM crops and foods.
Britain is currently conducting GM crop trials to assess its safety and has
said GM could eventually provide cheaper and better tasting foods.
Last month Britain's parliamentary Joint Committee on Statutory Affairs
called on the government to demand that stores tell consumers of any GM
content in foods on sale.
While restaurants and fast food outlets are compelled by law to tell
customers if their meals contain GM products, shops are not required to do
so unless specifically asked.
But amid public concern about the long-term safety of GM technology, many
supermarket chains have already banned GM products.
Heir to the British throne Prince Charles further stoked public debate in a
front-page newspaper article last month, posing the question:
"Do we really need GM food in this country? On the basis of what we have
seen so far, we don't appear to need it at all."
In contrast, Prime Minister Tony Blair has called for the public to remain
open-minded.
"All I can say to people is keep an open mind," he said in the wake of
Prince Charles' comments last month.
Blair's government has sought to tread a fine line between public concern
and not jeopardising British commercial interests by scaring GM companies
elsewhere and losing out on a potentially lucrative new technology. |