GM potato trial back on track  

Scientists at Leeds University say the development of a nematode resistant potato could save the UK potato industry more than £50 million a year and benefit farmers worldwide. It could also pave the way for action against the pest in other crops, they said.

But because EU law requires the trial location to be disclosed on a public register, anti-GM protestors raided the area and destroyed the crop last May.

Despite warnings of a repeat performance from activists this time, 400 transgenic plants have been sown again into the small plot near Tadcaster in North Yorkshire.

“Potato cyst nematodes are serious pests and a major constraint to potato farmers,” said Dr Peter Urwin from Leeds University after last year’s vandalism. He added the vandals were blinded by “a failure to distinguish a research trial from product-development trials”.

The trial is now under the protection of fencing, CCTV and security guards.

Defra approved the trial last year after a green light from independent experts on the Advisory Committee of Releases to the Environment (ACRE).

A Defra spokesman said: “We granted a three-year consent to Leeds University in May 2008. The application was considered by the independent Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment, which confirmed that the trial would not compromise human health or the environment.

“The GM potatoes won’t be used for food or animal feed, and the statutory consent specifies precautionary conditions to ensure that GM material does not persist at the trial site after the trial.”

However, Peter Riley from UK based GM Freeze said that Defra’s approval to allow trials to go ahead was “very unwise and unnecessary” and could lead to GM genes leaking into the natural environment.

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