The Soil Association believes that genetic engineering and genetically modified organisms have no place in organic food and farming. As such it has prohibited the use of CMOs and their products within its Standards for Organic Food and Farming. If you want to buy GMO-free products, then your only choice is to buy organic.
Genetic resources are one of the cornerstones of all agricultural activity. For thousands of years farmers have used a diverse range of genetic resources in the interest of enhancing the range, performance and output of their food production systems.
Modem biotechnology now offers a variety of new scientific 'tools' which are revolutionising the use of genetic resources in agriculture and the food industry. The most powerful of these is genetic engineering, where genetic material (DNA) is transferred from one organism to another in order to produce new and 'desirable' characteristics in the genetically modified plant, animal or micro-organism.
The use of genetic engineering is spreading rapidly, with the technology being deployed for a wide range of purposes, for example:
• transferring genes between animal species, creating 'transgenic animals'.
• implanting a fish gene into tomatoes - the new Flavr Savr variety
(to prolong shelflife).
• transferring herbicide resistant genes into crops (eg soya)
• implanting genes from biological control bacteria into crops (eg from
Bacillus thuringiensis into cotton).
• implanting in micro-organisms a variety of genes to produce vitamins,
enzymes hormones, vaccines, etc. These may be used in agriculture (eg the
controversial milk boosting hormone bovine somatotropin, BST), in the food
industry (eg cymosin - the active ingredient in rennet - with which most
'vegetarian' cheeses are produced), and in medicine.
Some of these may seem to be of positive benefit to mankind (eg medical products). Others are less clear and still others are designed for commercial gain and are not necessarily for public good.
The Soil Association is deeply concerned about the seemingly inexorable progress of gene technology, which it considers to be unnecessary and contrary to the philosophy, principles and practices of organic agriculture.
It is concemed for the following main reasons:
1. The Moral Issue - do humans have the moral right to interfere with the biological identity and integrity of other life forms with whom we share this planet? Even if we do, do we have the right to impose the completely unknown risks and hazards of such technology on future generations? Genetic engineering is a new and fundamentally different technology, whose potential risks are an order of magnitude different from those presented by conventional breeding techniques.
2. Human Safety - there has been very little research done on the health and safety implications to humans from ingesting GMOs or their products, be they food plants modified to produce insecticidal toxins, higher pesticide residues in tolerant plants, or simply enzymes or vitamins produced by genetically modified micro-organisms. There have been cases of allergic reactions to some of these products. In addition, most transferred genetic material is accompanied by a 'marker gene' producing a mild antibiotic, so that it can be identified in its new location. The implications of this seem to have been given scant attention.
3. Environmental Safety - major questions which rernain unanswered. Once genetically modified materials are released into the environment, they cannot be recalled and the new evolutionary paths they embark on can neither be predicted nor limited. They may have an impact far beyond the host organism, either due to an unexpected interaction or because the modified genes may transfer to other organisms and thence to the wider environment. Some scientists have warned that the destabilisation of the genetic integrity of species brought about by genetic manipulation could even lead to a total biological collapse.
Examples of risks include:
• Disruption of natural ecosystems by released GMOs (eg carp engineered
to resist cold causing disruption of ecosystems in the North).
• Pests building up resistance to natural biological controls (which
are used by organic farmers) from the cultivation of crops engineered to
produce these natural toxins themselves.
• Crops engineered to be immune to viral diseases could, through
recombination and mutation create new viruses even more pathogenic than the
original one.
• Genes engineered into crops may 'flow to wild relatives, creating
new superweeds.
• Plants engineered for herbicide resistance will increase the use of
those agrochemical inputs.
• The reduction in biological diversity as a result of more widespread
use of genetically modified plants and animals.
4. Animal Welfare - the most well known exarnple is the genetically modified hormone BST, to increase milk production from cows.Its use results in greater physiological stress for the cows, leading to health disorders burn out and a shorter productive life.
5. Ownership of Genetic Resources - genetic engineering is a highly
capital- and technological- intensive business, which is being conducted
largely by the transnational agribusiness and chemical companies. Vertically
integrated, they are controlling increasing parts of the food chain and their
'ownership' of specific genes or organisms through patenting is sure to lead
to:
higher costs for primary producers wishing to purchase such plants; greater
dependence by producers on these transnational companies and their products;
and the continued concentration of larger capital-intensive farms at the
expense of small farms. Inevitably, these problems will be more acute in
the poorer, developing countries and the small farmers in these countries
will suffer the most.
6. Freedom of Choice - the vast majority of consumers are highly sceptical of the benefits of GMOs. In response, the biotechnology industry is going to great lengths to mask the products of genetic engineering in the market place, putting huge pressure on the authorities to ease the restrictions on the release and labelling of such products. This reaction does not inspire confidence in thee motives of these transnational companies, or in the power of the authorities to control them. In effect this new, controversial and untried technology is being imposed on the public in a way which denies freedom of choice and makes guinea pigs of us all.
The Soil Association supports the views expressed by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), that genetic engineering and genetically modified organisms have no place in organic food and farming. As such it has prohibited he use of GMOs and their products within its Standards for Organic Food and Farming.
Clearly, this position needs to be kept under review, but as yet all that has emerged in the form of research and new products has simply served to reinforce our current stance.
The Soil Association has also worked hard in cooperating with others to call for the clear labelling of all GMOs and their products in the market place. At least then consumers would be able to choose whether to endorse this new technology or reject it. For the moment, if consumers wish to buy GMO-fee products, their only choice is to buy organic.
Produced by the Soil Association,
Bristol House, 40-56 Victoria Street, Bristol, BS1 6BY, United Kingdom
T: 0117 929 0661
F: 0117 925 2504
reprinted by
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