Britain: GM Crops Grown in Secret
July 27th, 2009Via: Telegraph:
Genetically-modified crops are being grown in Britain for the first time in a year after controversial trials of the plants were “secretly” restarted.
Cultivation of a field of potatoes designed to be resistant to pests were abandoned over a year ago when environmental protesters ripped up the crop
But, without alerting the public as is usual when such trials begin, the project has been restarted, prompting environmental groups to warn that local farms and nearby residents could be put at risk.
The 400 plants in the field, near Tadcaster in North Yorkshire, were removed just weeks after planting in May 2008 as a result of damage caused by unidentified environmentalists.
However, the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs maintains that the original permission for the trial to begin – granted for three years – remains valid and the crops can be replanted without giving further notice.
Campaigners accused ministers of trying to “slip it under the radar” and warned the trial could affect human health.
Defra said the potatoes, that will not be used for human or animal consumption, will be grown in a safe environment where there is no risk of contamination. The potatoes will be grown next to plants that will later be destroyed and the whole area will be left fallow for some years after the trial.
Fencing, CCTV cameras and guards will protect the crops from being ripped up again.
Almost all of the 54 GM crop trials which have been conducted since 2000 have been targeted by opponents and vandalised. A trial in Cambridgeshire was also abandoned last year when trees were uprooted.
