Modern biotechnology is an important new tool in
the development of sustainable agricultural systems. Despite its
extremely rapid uptake in North America, Argentina and now,
increasingly, China, India and parts of Africa, a variety of
factors have effectively put a hold on commercial planting in
Europe. The two primary areas of concern which are expressed are
the potential negative effect on the environment and fears about
food safety. Environmental impact will be dealt with in this,
the third in this series of reports issued by ABE; food safety
considerations will be covered in a later one.
It would be easy to point to the vast area of
land on which GM seed has already been sown over the past few
years, and to the lack of any reported negative effects on the
environment. However, the data largely relates to the prairies
of the American Mid-West and Canada, effectively separated from
areas of wilderness. In Europe, farmland exists alongside
woodland, moorland and urban areas; indeed in many countries the
major part of the landscape is entirely shaped by farming
practices. In this context, it is right that we should think
very carefully when making any significant changes to
agricultural systems.
This report therefore covers the main criticisms
levelled at the use of modern biotechnology in farming, and
attempts to answer them factually and honestly. Our main
conclusions are:
