By Graham Tibbetts
A senior Government agriculture advisor has warned Britain would miss
out on important advances if it did not sanction the growing of
genetically-modified crops.
Professor Sir Howard Dalton, chief scientific advisor to the
Department for the Environment, told the Daily Telegraph that developing GM
produce would bring enormous environmental benefits.

He spoke out after a Government source reignited the whole debate by
saying that the introduction of GM crops was not a question of "whether" but
"how".

Moves to grow GM crops have proved hugely controversial and in 2004,
mindful of the public concern, the Government announced no GM crops would be
grown in the "foreseeable" future.

But now Prof Dalton claimed the public was now broadly supportive of
GM crops.

No such crops are currently grown in Britain but Defra - the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - has said that they
could conceivably be produced from 2009 onwards.

Only one GM crop, a form of maize, is approved for use in Europe, and
even that is only grown in Spain.

The USA and developing countries such as India and China, along with
some South American countries, are all way ahead of Britain in adopting the
technology.

Prof Dalton said: "We are being left behind. Most companies have gone
to the United States or China.

"Having developed the science in the UK we are losing out in the
development and utilisation of it. Farmers in the US are benefiting
significantly from this - their yields are dramatically improved."

Prof Dalton, who was part of a committee that produced a report on the
health effects of GM four years ago, said that public opinion had been
affected by the use of the term "genetic modification".

He said that standard crops such as oats and barley now had higher
yields compared to centuries ago because of breeding techniques and said GM
was merely a speeding up of this process.

Prof Dalton, who is stepping down at the end of the month to return to
Warwick University, said the public would support GM once the benefits
became clear.

"If people go the petrol station and have a choice between buying
ethanol at 50p a litre and gas a 99p a litre it;s obvious which one they
would choose. If they see it benefitting them they will accept it."

The environmental advantages would also sway people, he said.

"We can generate GM plants that have low water requirements, low
nutrient requirements and are resistant to a variety of pesticides.

"You can use far fewer pesticides which makes a significant difference
to workers and the environment," he said.

A year ago the Government announced the circumstances under which GM
plants could be grown in Britain, with farmers only having to notify
neighbours of their intentions if they were as little as 35 metres (38yds)
away in the case of oil seed rape. The effects of GM pollen can be measured
over a kilometre (0.6 miles) away.

The combination of European Union opposition to GM and the time it
would take to gain approval for GM crops means that none are likely to be
grown here commercially until at least 2009 and probably later.

However, the Government has sought to move the issue back up the
political agenda.

A source told the Guardian: "GM will come back to the UK. The question
is how it comes back, not whether it's coming back."

The source added: "The ability to have drought resistant crops is
important not only for the UK but for other parts of the world.

"And the fact that some GM crops can produce higher yields in more
difficult climatic conditions is going to be important if we're going to
feed the growing world population."

Dr Julian Little, chairman of the Agricultural Biotechnology Council
which represents biotech companies, echoed concerns that Britain was lagging
behind other countries.

"Ten million farmers around the world are benefitting from this - 9m
in developing countries. This tehcnology is going on without the European
Union and clearly Europe and the UK is falling behind. If we are serious
about food security and biofuel security and serious about climate change we
should not put technology like this to one side," he said.

However, the Soil Association, the main campaigners for organic food
in Britain, poured scorn on fresh moves to introduce GM crops.

Lord Melchett, policy director, said: "Everyone knows it definitely
won't happen. If you take genetically modified potatoes, Walkers crisps and
McDonald's, who buy large volumes of potatoes, won't have anything to do
with it.

"Unless someone is prepared to come out of the GM closet it's not
worth taking seriously. No actual GM crops have yielded more than normal
crops."

A Defra spokesman said: "GM technology is not wholly good or bad and
the only sensible approach is to consider GM crops on a case-by-case basis.

"Each proposed crop will go through a detailed risk assessment that
involves careful scrutiny by independent scientists - not only here but
throughout the EU."


[www.telegraph.co.uk]