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by Hugh Warwick and Gundula Meziani
Bristol: Soil Association, 2002, p/b,
66pp, £12.00.
Reviewed by Richard Collyer
As you would expect, the Soil Association, the main body in the
UK promoting organic agriculture, has put together a very comprehensive
report outlining the reasons why genetic modification (or genetic
engineering) is not only damaging to our environment, but also
damaging to our freedom of choice and our health.
If you want to believe that genetic modification is good for
the environment and good for your health then do not read Seeds
of Doubt. If you want to understand the negative side of GM,
then this report cites many instances and gives many examples
of the experiences of farmers in North America, who have been
using the technology for years.
The following are all benefits according to the GM industry:
• Increased yields
• Less herbicide use
• Increased profits on GM farms (due to higher prices)
• Increased export trade
Seeds of Doubt highlights the facts that:
• Yields are actually lower. Roundup Ready (RR) soya produces
5-10% less in most circumstances.
• RR crops have been genetically engineered to tolerate Roundup,
a brand name for glyphosate herbicide. The intended single application
of a herbicide has actually resulted in several applications being
used, which is resulting in weeds becoming resistant and leading
to difficulty in controlling related contaminated weeds.
• GM crops are receiving lower market prices. This coupled
with the higher seed costs leads to lower profits in most cases.
• Export markets are very difficult to find for GM crops,
because European shoppers (and most of the rest of the world)
do not want to eat GM food.
Moreover, there are other concerns: contamination of seeds, crops,
and products in the food chain; less farmer choice over business
options; increased need for government subsidies; legal liability
problems for farmers over company patent rights on GM plants.
All the above problems and concerns are discussed in great detail
and the Soil Association’s main reason for writing this 67
page booklet is the firm belief that we should all be able to
choose how our food is produced. If GM contamination escapes into
the ‘wild’ it will be uncontrollable and our choice
will be lost forever. The arguments are biased against the use
of GM and the well thought-through discussion is based, as indicated
above, on the experiences of farmers already using GM crops.
The biotechnology companies publicly suggest that genetic engineering
is a precise and controlled technique. However, several farmers
have reported unexpected effects. This report gives examples and
many statistics are analysed, creating a compulsive reason to
deny the technology.
Pig breeders in Iowa have had a major reduction in breeding levels
since they started using GM maize as a feed. Many farmers have
reported that many cattle show a marked preference for non-GM
maize if given the choice. In certain conditions RR soya has been
found to be susceptible to pests and diseases and stem splitting,
because lignin levels are higher than in non-GM soya.
As the main organic farming body, the Soil Association is concerned
that GM crops would prevent the UK government from meeting its
public commitments and policy objectives: to ensure that the expansion
of organic farming is not undermined by the introduction of GM
crops and that farming should be competitive and meet consumer
requirements. This report is designed to start a more balanced
and realistic debate on the likely impacts of GM crops on farming
in the UK. It will no doubt become a major reference document
when the debate is taken to the people, as recently promised by
our government. Well done the Soil Association.
The Seeds of Doubt report is A4 and copies costs £12. It
can be obtained from the Soil Association, Bristol House, 40-56
Victoria Street, BristolBS1 6BY. Tel: 0117 929 0661 or email:
info@soilassociation.org
Website: www.soilassociation.org
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Richard Collyer has worked in agriculture
for the last 35 years and believes that organic farming is the
only sensible way to farm in a sustainable way. He has worked
as a trainer, inspector and adviser of organic systems for 25
years and has a degree in Rural Resource Management.
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© Caduceus, 2003.
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