www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

Europe should weigh benefits as well as risks when evaluating new farm
technologies like biotech crops to avoid stifling innovation that may be key
to future food security, a report for the UK government said, by David Evans
.
With agriculture facing huge challenges from climate change, rising world
wealth levels and new crop-based biofuels, ACRE (Advisory Committee on
Releases to the Environment) said it was time for a more balanced and
holistic approach to regulation.

"We need to get a better balance between the good and bad sides of novel
technologies," ACRE chairman Chris Pollock told a press conference.

"We can't wall off avenues we may need in the future."

In an advisory report for David Miliband, UK Secretary of State for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, ACRE said the current approvals system
for genetically-modified (GM) crops of focusing purely on potential risks
was unbalanced.

The report cited genetically modified herbicide tolerant beet, which was
denied clearance for cultivation due to negative effects on weeds and
invertebrates of the herbicide used.

But as under European Union rules only the risks were considered, evidence
of any potential environmental benefits such as the reduced herbicide use
leading to lower Co2 emissions were not considered.

And this wider approvals process should be expanded to include changes in
farming practices like biofuels that also have an environmental impact, the
report said.

"Environmental benefits are now a major focus in the introduction of a
number of other novel crops (e.g. energy crops) and agricultural management
practices in the UK. There is no regulatory requirement to assess potential
environmental costs in a fashion similar to GM crops," it said.

The report, which is designed to stimulate discussion at European Union
level, listed changes in agricultural practices that have been shown to have
had an environmental impact at least as significant as those with GMO crops.

These included the change from spring to winter sowing for arable crops and
a shift from hay cutting to silage production.

The prospect of some farmers switching into new crops to produce biofuels
could have unforeseen consequences if left completely uncontrolled,
particularly given the strains on food production that are likely in the
years ahead.

"We could end up covering the land with crops that don't actually produce
food, and that may be a problem in the future," Pollock said.

"It was only a generation ago that British agriculture was given the task of
feeding the nation. That role may come back."

[uk.reuters.com]