Immediate Release 17 September 2010

Decision to Abandon FSA GM Dialogue Welcomed

GM Freeze welcomed Science Minister David Willets’ announcement that the
Food Standards Agency’s planned GM Dialogue will be abandoned.

The FSA’s GM dialogue was being planned at the bequest of the previous
government in collaboration with ScienceWise and the Central Office of
Information. [1]

The planning of the dialogue ran into problems in May 2010 when two members
of the independent steering committee, including the vice chair, resigned
over concerns about the motivations behind the dialogue and the process for
selecting contractors to carry it out. [2]

Yesterday David Willets said:

“I’m announcing today that the GM dialogue project will not continue in its
current format. However, it's vital to engage people of all ages on
scientific issues, so that they have a real say about developments which can
affect all of us. Instead we are taking this valuable opportunity to step
back and review past dialogues on GM and other areas of science to ensure we
understand how best to engage the public over such issues.” [3]

The public remains concerned about the use of GM technology in food
production according to a poll about the use of GM animals feed earlier this
year. [4]

Commenting Pete Riley of GM Freeze said:

“We welcome the decision to abandon the GM dialogue – the project was flawed
from the start because Ministers in the previous government and the FSA saw
it as an opportunity to persuade the public that they were wrong to oppose
GM food and crops. The resignations highlighted the fact that it would never
have been a dialogue in the true sense of the word because the sponsors were
only seeking one outcome.

“Public involvement in major decisions about our food and its production is
vital. It’s not just for science – there are complex socio-economic and
cultural factors that must be allowed to guide and influence the final
decisions. Food and farming policies barely get a mention during election
campaigns, so we would welcome genuine attempts to work with the public in
order to shape the future direction for food and farming.”

ENDS

Calls to Pete Riley 07903 341 065

Notes

1. See www.food.gov.uk/gmfoods/gm/gmdialogue/.

2. See Resignation letter from Professor Brian Wynn and Dr Helen Wallace at
www.genewatch.org/article.shtml?als[cid]=492860&als[itemid]=566339

3. See
 http://nds.coi.gov.uk/content/Detail.aspx?NewsAreaID=2&ReleaseID=415513

4. See
www.gmfreeze.org/page.asp?ID=436&iType=1083