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 GMOs  > Biodiversity Loss

 GM study shows potential 'harm'

BBC News 2005/03/21
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/4368495.stm

The fourth and final test of a GM crop grown under UK farm conditions has highlighted the detrimental effects the novel plants can have on wildlife.

The tests of a winter-sown oilseed rape showed the management of the biotech crop could reduce the weeds and seeds available to some insects and birds. And scientists found these effects could linger in fields year after year.

More Monsanto

GM management led to more grass weeds but fewer broad-leaved weeds, such as chickweed and fat hen. The flowers of these "pest" plants attract insects, and their seeds are also important for many bird species, such as the skylark, tree sparrow and bullfinch.

Less Skylarks 

"There is a lot of knowledge about bird diets and, generally, it's fair to say for most farmland birds, broad-leaved weeds are particularly important," said Dr David Gibbons, a steering committee member from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

GM tests show wildlife dangers

BBC News 2003/10/16
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/3196768.stm

Farm-scale evaluations (FSEs)

• The biggest environmental-impact study of genetically modified crops conducted anywhere in the world have been conducted in the UK under the title Farm-scale evaluations (FSEs)
• Scientists tested three biotech crops and found the cultivation of two - an oilseed rape and a beet crop - to be more harmful to many groups of wildlife than their conventional equivalents. The production of a third biotech plant - a maize - was shown to be kinder to other plants and animals than the normal crop.
• The FSEs showed a reduction in bees (in beet crops) and butterflies (in beet and rape).

'Wrong' comparison

The environmental group Greenpeace criticised the scope of the trials and dismissed them as a political fudge.

It said their outcome did prove, however, that GM corporations were wrong when they claimed herbicide-tolerant plants could have biodiversity benefits through a reduction in the use of agrochemicals.

And executive director Stephen Tindale added: "The real comparison should be between GM and organic agriculture. But organic is so obviously better for the environment that the GM industry refused point blank to have this included in the trials

The trials did not looked at how GM traits might flow into the wider environment through pollen spread.

Test did not investigate the plants' impact on human health.

BBC News 2004/11/29
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/4046427.stm

• Following the FSE results, Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett announced that companies wishing to bring GM crops into the UK would have to go through a long approval process.
• Nevertheless, the 'Botanical and Rotational Implications of Genetically Modified Herbicide Tolerance' (Bright) will help biotech companies and proponents of GM agriculture argue that the crops should not be banned on environmental grounds.
• The European Union has indicated that member countries will in the future have to base decisions on whether or not to permit GM agriculture on science rather than public opinion.

BBC News 2005/03/16
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/4352871.stm

Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett approved the growing of a single variety of GM maize - herbicide-tolerant maize - in March 2004.

But she rejected commercial cultivation of GM beet and oilseed rape - the two other GM crops involved in tests, known as the farm-scale evaluations.

'Public disapproval'

Her statement followed five years of consultation, farm-scale trials and a major survey which showed 90% of the public were against GM crops.