UK GM field trials

GM wheat

In Spring 2012 a trial of GM wheat will begin in Hertfordshire. See GM Wheat? No Thanks for information and action.

GM potatoes

There are two field trials of GM potatoes authorised in the UK.

A new application was announced in July 2011 for a trial of GM wheat by Rothamsted Research, and GM Freeze in encouraging people to object.

Trials have a long and patchy history in the UK, including government authorisation after rejection of the trials by other countries (like the Netherlands and Ireland) on safety grounds and government collusion with industry.

Below is a summary of the current situation with regard to potatoes. We will bring you any developments. It is unclear if the Leeds trial has been planted in 2010 as it has not been publicly confirmed or reported in the press as is usual, but in a response to a Parliamentary question in July 2011 Farming Minister Jim Paice said, "The Sainsbury Laboratory planted potatoes under this consent in 2011 at the same site as the 2010 planting." The license for both trials are vaild.

If you object to the potato trials

Please write to your MP and ask for the authorisations to be recinded. You might like to point out that:

1. The potatoes being trialled in Norfolk have already cost tax payers over £1.7 million since 2001 even though there is no market for them.
2. More public money will be needed to develop varieties that perform well in the UK if the GM resistance is successful (which remains to be seen).  
3. Blight resistant potatoes from conventional breeding techniques by the Sárvári Research Trust in North Wales are already available to grow and are exhibiting robust blight resistance without the risks of GM.

**The consultations mentioned are now CLOSED, so you can no longer contribute to these.***

1) GM potato trials in the UK - Leeds

In 2010 the Centre for Plant Sciences at the University of Leeds was granted authorisation by Defra to conduct field trials of a GM potato resistant to potato cyst eelworm or potato cyst nematode (PCN).

This is a different GM potato to the one previously trialled in 2008 (see also Objecting to an Application to Trial GM Potatoes in Yorkshire 2008 for more information about that trial), and different to the potatoes being trialled in Norfolk (see below), but many of the problems are the same.

The trials are due to run from 1 May to 3 November 2010 and continue for a further 3 years until 2012. They would take place at the Leeds University Farm at Tadcaster, North Yorkshire covering not more than 1,000 square metres with up to 4,000 GM plants per year. 

The trial should not go ahead.

At the time of the consultation is was possible to object to proposed field trial of GM potatoes in Yorkshire. Grounds for rejecting the trial included:

1. There is no demand for GM potatoes now or in the immediate future, and therefore the trials represent an unnecessary risk to the environment and the integrity of the GM-free potato supplies in the UK.
2. There is no need to use GM for potato cyst eelworm resistant potatoes because conventionally bred resistant varieties are already available which, if used in combination with long rotations and good hygiene, can minimize yield losses. It is unclear how the introduction of GM PCN resistant potatoes will fit in with other sustainability objectives for farming, as they may lead to shorter rotations and increase risk of pollution, soil erosion and pest and disease build up.
3. There is a risk the GM pollen could be transferred by insects to other crops in the vicinity, and the GM seeds resulting could germinate to contaminate future non-GM crops.
4. GM groundkeepers (volunteers) could persist in the field for a number of years, certainly into a subsequent potato crops in the rotation if not controlled.
5. Small GM tubers could be transferred by machinery or even wild mammals off field to establish feral populations.
6. The applicants provide no evidence that unexpected side effects of the GM insertion have not taken place, or that the applicant has any data on the food safety of the GM potatoes.
7. The presence of the neomycin antibiotic resistant marker gene raises concerns about the long-term risk of increasing antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria should the GM potato receive commercial approval. It should be removed.
8. The applicant should demonstrate that they have proven that the GM proteins in the potatoes have not developed allergenicity as a result of the genetic engineering events before the experiment proceeds.

2) GM potato trials in the UK - Norfolk

In 2010 the Sainsbury Laboratory at the John Innes Centre, Norwich was granted authorisation by Defra to conduct field trials of GM potatoes engineered to resist late potato blight. These potatoes contain genes from a potato relative from South America. They are different from the genes in BASF's GM blight resist potatoes field tested near Cambridge in 2007 and 2008, and different to the GM potatoes being trialled in Leeds (see above), but many of the problems are the same.

The trials are due to run from 1 May 2010 to 30 November 2010 and continue for a further 2 years until 2012. The release would take place at the John Innes Centre, Norfolk, in an area of 1,000 square metres with 200 square metres used each year for GM potatoes with not more than 200 GM plants per year.

The trial should not go ahead

At the time of the consulation it was possible to object to proposed field trial of GM potatoes in Norfolk. Grounds for rejecting the trial included all those listed for the Leeds trial above and that the method of disposal of GM material after the trial is not in sufficient detail to be sure that all GM materials will be killed or denatured prior to composting.

We will bring you any developments. The license for the trial is vaild. In a response to a Parliamentary question in July 2011 Farming Minister Jim Paice said, "The Sainsbury Laboratory planted potatoes under this consent in 2011 at the same site as the 2010 planting."