The governments own appointed advisers on the national GM debate are not convinced by the emerging plans for the so-called consultation due to begin this autumn. Likewise, many members of the public say the debate is nothing more than a pro-GM propoganda campaign and that the government has already made it clear that it has already made up it's mind on the issue.

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GM FARM DEBATE WILL BE A SHAM, SAY EXPERTS

DAILY MAIL (London), August 22, 2002
SEAN POULTER CONSUMER AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT

PROMISES by the Government of an independent national debate on GM farming are a sham, say its own advisers.

Ministers are trying to put the Central Office of Information in charge of the debate, rather than the independent Agricultural Environment &
Biotechnology Commission. This has raised fears that publicity material and opinion polls will be skewed to produce a pro-GM result.

Agriculture Secretary Margaret Beckett is also accused of rushing through the debate before the results of key farm scale trials are known. She is asking for a report on the national consultation to be on her desk by June next year.

But the trial results - including their impact on the countryside - will not be known until July. Also, the agriculture department DEFRA has allocated just GBP 250,000 to the debate. The AEBC, which advises Ministers on GM,
considers this too little to produce the necessary public information material, such as videos. Commission chairman
Professor Malcolm Grant was asked by the agriculture department to head a committee directing the debate - an appointment expected to be rubber-stamped by the AEBC last month. However, it has now emerged this has been put on hold amid concerns about Government attempts to hijack the
debate.

A DEFRA insider admitted: 'The AEBC does not want to lend its name to anything which is not a genuine and independent attempt to assess public attitudes. 'I can quite understand why they are concerned that the public will be suspicious if a Government department like the Central Office of Information is put in charge. 'The COI is effectively the
Government's spin machine. If it was put in charge, the results of any national debate would be tainted.
'AEBC members fear this debate will be a sham if the
Government pushes ahead on the current lines.'

Friends of the Earth GM campaigner Pete Riley said: 'The AEBC originally proposed that the Government should host an independently-run, wide-ranging public debate on GM crops and food to provide information for the Government
when they finally decide on the commercialisation of GM crops in the UK. 'It now seems that a major Government agency in the shape of the COI is muscling in and the debate will be over and done with before the results of the farm scale trials are even published.'

DEFRA said: 'The COI will just be a conduit for the AEBC,
it will not be running the national debate.'

A spokesman said there would be ample opportunity for the
public to discuss implications of farm scale trials, even
if the official debate process had ended.