Environmentalists dispute study showing GM crops do not harm the countryside
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A study of genetically modified crops has found no evidence to suggest they are harmful to the countryside, fuelling the debate about the environmental effects of the technology.
A study of genetically modified crops has found no evidence to suggest they are harmful to the countryside, fuelling the debate about the environmental effects of the technology.
Environmentalists were quick to dispute the research, published yesterday and jointly funded by the biotechnology industry and the Government. It examined the effects of growing GM sugar beet and winter oilseed rape and found that over a four-year period there were no significant differences between GM and non-GM crops in the diversity of wild flowers and weed seeds in the same fields, a key source of food for birds and other animals.
Friends of the Earth said the results appeared to confirm fears that commercial GM crops would be difficult to control and would cross-pollinate with non-GM crops, posing a "real threat" of contamination for conventional varieties.
The environmental group's GM campaigner, Emily Diamand, said yesterday: "Conventional oilseed rape would be threatened with GM contamination, and GM 'superweeds' could add to the problems for farmers."
The project investigated the effects on the environment of growing herbicide-tolerant GM crops in rotation with cereal crops over four years. The study, entitled "Bright - the Botanical and Rotational Implications of Genetically Modified Herbicide Tolerance", found that rotated GM crops did not deplete the soil of weed seeds needed by birds and other wildlife.
Jeremy Sweet, of the National Institute of Agricultural Botany and the study's scientific co-ordinator, said: "GM crops, and particularly GM winter oilseed rape, is not particularly detrimental to the environment, depending on how they are grown. If you use them badly, you can end up damaging the environment. But if you manage them well, they do not deplete fields of seeds for birds."
In September, a survey showed attitudes to GM foods were hardening. More than six out of 10 people (61 per cent) polled for the consumer magazine Which? said they were concerned about the use of GM material in food production - up from 56 per cent in 2002.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments