THE Government's advisory body, the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission, has advised ministers that although genetically modified crop trials will provide valuable ecological data, more information will need to be considered and there must be wider public consultation before any decision to commercialise can be taken.

Traditional opponents in the GM debate have agreed to recommend a new way forward for the controversial GM field trials. The AEBC, which brings together senior members of the GM industry with the environmental and consumer movements, as well as scientists, philosophers and others, has advised that GM farm scale evaluations (FSEs) should continue but only under certain conditions:

Government confirm that no commercial cultivation of GM crops in the UK will take place until the trials are complete and results have been evaluated alongside other factors and other evidence;

adequate separation distances are set for the remaining trials to ensure that the interests of all parties, including organic farmers, are accommodated;

the objectives and limitations of the trials must be clearly stated and communicated to the public;

there must be effective local public consultation around the crop trial sites, taking account in particular of the interests of local stakeholders.

In addition to the results from the FSEs, the Government must take into account scientific information from other sources, ethical concerns, strategic and economic issues raised by the forthcoming Policy Commission on Food and Farming and the concerns which have been expressed by the public, before any decision to commercialise is taken. There will also need to be wider public consultation on the issues raised by the trials.

The report is critical of the way the FSEs were introduced in this country: "The absence of consultation, the very short notification, and the particularly unfortunate location of some of the chosen sites have made it seem that the trials have been conceived and designed in a secretive way, with key players not fully engaged".

The 'Crops of trial' report is available on the internet at: www.aebc.gov.uk.

Updated: 09:58 Thursday, September 13, 2001