LETTER TO MR GERALD HOWARTH, MP
Re: Private Members’ Ballot — GM Contamination and Liability Bill

Web version of a letter issued on 5th December 2004 by Dr Eva Novotny and Dr Philip Webber, SGR

Mr Gerald Howarth MP
House of Commons
London, SW1A 0AA

Dear Mr Howarth,

We are writing to request that your good fortune in being selected to introduce a Private Member’s Bill be used to initiate legislation that will be of the utmost importance if genetically modified (GM) crops are grown in this country.

We are an organisation of about 600 British scientists dedicated to the social and environmentally sustainable uses of science and technology.

The prospect of contamination of non-GM crops by GM varieties is an urgent issue, in case the Government decides that GM crops may be grown in Britain. Contamination can arise in a multitude of ways: from GM pollen blown (or carried by insects) onto crops being grown for seed, thus contaminating the seed; from accidental admixture of GM seeds amongst non-GM seeds or of GM crops into a non-GM crops during transport, storage, handling or processing of crops; and from less obvious sources of contamination..

Accidental contamination is a virtual certainty. We have already experienced the Advanta scandal in the United Kingdom, when seeds of oilseed rape were contaminated by GM seed; and the Starlink scandal, when GM forage maize entered the food chain; the widespread contamination of seeds in North America, so that it is almost impossible to obtain non-GM seeds of crops having GM counterparts; the virtual collapse of the organic sector for oilseed rape in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan as the result of GM contamination¹; and the recent study showing how wild turnips in Britain have already been contaminated by oilseed rape².

Farmers who grow crops conventionally or organically must not be penalised because certain companies have marketed a new type of seed producing products that consumers do not want and which are likely to pollute the food they choose they eat. The burden of paying for such pollution must not fall on innocent farmers or consumers: it must fall on those who are responsible for the contamination. The Starlink incident was estimated to have cost the manufacturer, Aventis, $1 billion by last year; and the legal proceedings had not yet terminated³. The (American-based) Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that organic maize farmers could be losing $90 million annually, even before the growth of the organic market is taken into account⁴. These incidents are a foretaste of the types of legal proceedings that are likely to occur if GM crops are grown.

Legislation on contamination and liability is therefore vital. There must be strict controls to minimise levels of contamination, although it will never be eliminated. Recurring incidents must be expected, with various degrees of seriousness. To deal with them, strict legislation on liability is also essential, to ensure that those who cause the contamination will bear the financial burden and not those who were innocent by-standers.

We hope that you will support these concerns and introduce this Bill.

Yours sincerely,