*genetically modifying crops to include the Bt microbe may have increased the possibility that immunity could develop - it has developed and could render the normal organic use of Bt as a spray useless (item 2)
*organic farmers’ anger at GM sites (item 1)
*new major Soil Association report contradicts Krebs, saying the research already shows organic improves health (item 2)
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Organic farmers’ anger at GM sites
By FWi staff
6 August 2001
ORGANIC farmers have attacked plans to run genetically modified crop trials near organic farms. A total of 78 certified organic farms fall within a 6-mile radius of designated sites for winter-planted trials, according to organic accreditation body the Soil Association.
Organic farmers are concerned that pollen from GM crops could contaminate their crops and threaten their organic status. It claims the government had given assurances that “every step would be taken” to ensure GM trials were not planted close to organic farms.
The group says organic farmers were not consulted before the sites were announced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on July 23. Yet the government could easily have obtained a record of every organic holding in the UK, it says.
The association is undertaking risk assessment for all farms within the critical area, covering crop type the layout of the land and prevailing wind direction. The Soil Association says an internationally known organic research centre was threatened by GM contamination in May. But the GM trial near the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA), in Warwickshire, was halted after massive public opposition, the association says.
Association campaigns officer Michele Burton, said the location of the new trial sites is a real set back for the organic movement. “We were sure that after the HDRA debacle in May the government would have wised up to the fact that contamination can occur and that organic farmers and the public are staunchly opposed to any GM contamination of organic crops,” she said.
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‘Go organic and improve health’
By FWi staff
6 August 2001
FARMERS can protect their own health and improve the quality of their produce by going organic, according to a new report by the Soil Association. Science indicates that organic food is safer and better for you than non-organic food, claims the organic accreditation body in a new study.
The report, Organic Farming, Food Quality and Human Health, which examined more than 400 pieces of research, was launched in London on Monday (6 August).
"Available evidence on the health effects of occupational pesticide exposure and crop nutritional analyses suggests conversion to organic farming can protect your own health and improve the nutritional quality of crops grown," it claims.
The report contradicts claims by Food Standards Agency chief executive Sir John Krebs that there is no evidence to show organic food is safer.
While conceding that more research is needed, the report concludes that organic food can improve consumers’ intake of minerals and vitamin C.
Eating organic produce can also reduce exposure to potentially harmful pesticide residues and food additives, says the report. They are also higher in phytonutrients ”” compounds which protect plants from pests and disease and are beneficial in treating cancer, it claims.
Soil Association director Patrick Holden, Director said the government should increase support for the sector to improve the nation’s health. "These findings, coupled with health concerns linked to pesticides, antibiotics, GMOs, nitrate and additives occurring in non-organic foods, suggests increased government support for organic production could have significant health benefits in addition to the environmental benefits already proven."
The report Organic Farming, Food Quality and Human Health was compiled by Shane Heaton.
Among further research recommended in the 87-page report are long-term feeding trials with both animals and humans.
Meanwhile, teams of scientists have claimed that the world's most popular organic pesticide could soon be rendered useless, reports The Independent. Researchers, led by Fred Gould, professor of entomology at North Carolina, say that insects are becoming immune to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).
Bt produces toxins poisonous to insects and pests but harmless to other animals and humans and has been used in organic cultivation for decades. But now the international team has discovered a genetic mutation among a moths making them highly resistant to Bt toxins.
The newspaper speculates that genetically modifying crops to include the Bt microbe may have increased the possibility that immunity could develop. A separate study by scientists from the University of California at San Diego found Bt resistance in microscopic roundworms such as nematodes.