UK Minister tells GM firms - public comes first
Date: 19-Jul-99
Country: UK
Author: Edna Fernandes
His latest comments came against growing public calls for tighter controls on the development of GM crops, dubbed "Frankenstein foods" by the British media.
"I am not prepared to ride rough-shod over the regulatory and scientific procedures in order to please Monsanto ," he told a conference on the future of the ruling Labour Party, referring to the U.S. company which has borne the brunt of the media backlash.
Meacher said the interests of the public and business did not always coincide.
"The job of government ...is to protect the public interest. We do not believe what is good for Monsanto is good for the world," said the minister.
"I pledge there will be no general planting of GM crops in this country until or if we reach an authoritative conclusion based on the evidence...that GM crops cause no material damage," he added.
One recent media report said Meacher's views were being monitored by American national security agents, leading environmental lobbyist Charles Secrett of Friends of the Earth to conclude that the U.S. government wanted to influence Britain's policy on GM crops and foods.
Britain is currently conducting GM crop trials to assess its safety and has said GM could eventually provide cheaper and better tasting foods.
Last month Britain's parliamentary Joint Committee on Statutory Affairs called on the government to demand that stores tell consumers of any GM content in foods on sale.
While restaurants and fast food outlets are compelled by law to tell customers if their meals contain GM products, shops are not required to do so unless specifically asked.
But amid public concern about the long-term safety of GM technology, many supermarket chains have already banned GM products.
Heir to the British throne Prince Charles further stoked public debate in a front-page newspaper article last month, posing the question:
"Do we really need GM food in this country? On the basis of what we have seen so far, we don't appear to need it at all."
In contrast, Prime Minister Tony Blair has called for the public to remain open-minded.
"All I can say to people is keep an open mind," he said in the wake of Prince Charles' comments last month.
Blair's government has sought to tread a fine line between public concern and not jeopardising British commercial interests by scaring GM companies elsewhere and losing out on a potentially lucrative new technology.