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ENVIRONMENT Secretary Hilary Benn has admitted that scientific evidence 'clearly' demonstrates the safety of genetically modified (GM) foods.
Asked in Parliament what the Government was doing on GM, Mr Benn said there were still hurdles to overcome, chiefly the effect of GM on biodiversity, but trials had so far demonstrated their safety.
He told MPs more work needed to be done by the firms producing GM foods and eventually, it would be farmers, consumers and supermarkets who will decide on whether to use the technology.
He said: “The Government have to be able to answer two questions in relation to GM crops: first, is the product safe to eat? The evidence is clearly that it is. The second is, what is the impact on biodiversity?
“We have to have carefully conducted trials, and it is a matter for regret when trials that are approved are trashed within about a month and a bit — a recent example was a trial to demonstrate potatoes’ resistance to nematode — because how can we answer such questions if we do not have the information?”
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Readers' comments (2)
Penny Webber | 11 November 2008 11:32 am
NO GMO - is the only way to go. Profit at any cost rears its head yet again The people conducting the tests are the ones who will benefit from GMO - the people and the planet will not - anyone with half a brain cell knows this. Say NO to GMO
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john Burns | 15 November 2008 6:10 pm
He could easily back up his claim that GM food is clearly safe by agreeing to a trial inwhich he and his extended family eat a GM food diet for ten years. That would as far as I know be the first real trial of whether GM food is safe.
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