New Rothamsted wheat trial misses the point

Comment (4 Nov 2016)

Press contact: Liz O'Neill liz[at]gmfreeze.org 07811 211 404

Commenting on news that Rothamsted Research has applied for permission to carry out a field trial of GM wheat plants [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/genetically-modified-organisms-rothamsted-research-16r0802], GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill said

Rothamsted’s researchers have totally missed the point – why do we want to grow more wheat in the first place?

World food production already far exceeds the needs of generations to come but people still go hungry. Techno-fixes like GM wheat won’t change that because they don’t address the real problems. GM is a bogus solution sucking up funding that could make a real difference if it was spent on waste reduction and poverty eradication. Then we could all eat food that was produced responsibly, fairly and sustainably.

GM Freeze will scrutinise this application and participate in the public consultation but we already know that Defra’s process won’t consider the really crucial questions.”