December 30, 2002

Government denies burying GM report
by pa news


Michael Meacher, the Environment Minister, today denied trying to
"bury" a report into GM crop cross-contamination.

The study, which was issued on Christmas Eve, found that GM crops do
contaminate plants in neighbouring fields.

Anti-GM campaigners have claimed the information proved there was no
commercial future for GM foods in the UK.

Mr Meacher told the BBC: "We weren’t trying to bury it. I entirely
agree that the Christmas Eve timing was unfortunate ...

"I can assure you there is no wish to conceal. It is another case, as
is so often the case, of cock-up rather than conspiracy."

Mr Meacher said he had not known the report would be published on
Christmas Eve, the only day of the year when newspapers were not
produced for the following day, adding: "The Kremlinologists are going
to have a field day about this."

However Mr Meacher denied the study, which goes back to 1994 and was
finished in 2000, disclosed any new information. "The fact is this
information has been known since the early 1990s," he said.

"These findings are not new, they simply confirm what was already
known."

The minister said: "You can’t eliminate cross-contamination, you can
only minimise it, and try to keep it below a level which is acceptable
to the public if they are going to buy the product."

The research found that the weed wild turnip was affected by gene flow
when planted next to GM oilseed rape, prompting fears that it could
become resistant to herbicides.

Further research on cross-contamination will be revealed by the Farm
Scale Evaluations, the final results of which will be published in
early 2004.




Meacher denies 'burying' GM bad news

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/env...p?story=365464

By Marie Woolf, Chief Political Correspondent
The Independent, 31 December 2002

Michael Meacher, the Environment minister, admitted yesterday that the
publication on Christmas Eve of a crucial government study on
contamination by genetically modified crops was a mistake.

But Mr Meacher denied his department had deliberately tried to "bury"
the report detailing evidence that GM crops grown experimentally in
Britain had contaminated conventional crops and weeds.

The report found evidence that wild turnip, a weed, was contaminated
by genes from GM oilseed rape when they were planted side by side.
This could lead to the development of herbicide-resistant hybrids that
are difficult to kill.

The report is a setback for the Government, which next year will have
to take a crucial decision on whether to press ahead with commercial
planting of GM crops.

Mr Meacher, speaking on BBC Radio 4, said he entirely agreed that the
"Christmas Eve timing was unfortunate". He said the decision to
release the report hours before the only day of the year on which
newspapers were not published was a blunder rather than an attempt to
conceal its findings. "We weren't trying to bury it," he said.

"It is another case of cock-up rather than conspiracy."

Mr Meacher said he had not been told the report would be issued and
admitted the timing looked conspiratorial. "The Kremlinologists are
going to have a field day about this." Mr Meacher said the study,
which included six years of data, confirmed evidence from overseas
that GM crops could breed with native species, creating hybrids.

"The fact is, this information has been known since the early 1990s,"
he said. "These findings are not new, they simply confirm what was
already known. You can't eliminate cross- contamination, you can only
minimise it, and try to keep it below a level which is acceptable to
the public if they are going to buy the product."

Marcus Williamson wrote in message
...


December 30, 2002

Government denies burying GM report
by pa news


Michael Meacher, the Environment Minister, today denied trying to
"bury" a report into GM crop cross-contamination.

I must admit I have a bit of sympathy for him
Sticking it on the web is a strange way to bury anything.
Especially sticking it on the web just before a holiday period when
everyone has time to go and look for it.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/...epg-1-5-84.htm

for summary and links to full report.

Personally I think the papers are getting fed up of being side lined,
they might lose sales. But for this sort of thing they are not necessary
any more. They would never have published the entire report anyway, just
selected highlights.


--
Jim Webster

"The pasture of stupidity is unwholesome to mankind"

'Abd-ar-Rahman b. Muhammad b. Khaldun al-Hadrami'

The Govt. didn't bury it.
It just handled it's release badly, but is that anything new ?

"Marcus Williamson" wrote in message
...


December 30, 2002

Government denies burying GM report
by pa news


Michael Meacher, the Environment Minister, today denied trying to
"bury" a report into GM crop cross-contamination.

The study, which was issued on Christmas Eve, found that GM crops do
contaminate plants in neighbouring fields.

Anti-GM campaigners have claimed the information proved there was no
commercial future for GM foods in the UK.

Mr Meacher told the BBC: "We weren't trying to bury it. I entirely
agree that the Christmas Eve timing was unfortunate ...

"I can assure you there is no wish to conceal. It is another case, as
is so often the case, of cock-up rather than conspiracy."

Mr Meacher said he had not known the report would be published on
Christmas Eve, the only day of the year when newspapers were not
produced for the following day, adding: "The Kremlinologists are going
to have a field day about this."

However Mr Meacher denied the study, which goes back to 1994 and was
finished in 2000, disclosed any new information. "The fact is this
information has been known since the early 1990s," he said.

"These findings are not new, they simply confirm what was already
known."

The minister said: "You can't eliminate cross-contamination, you can
only minimise it, and try to keep it below a level which is acceptable
to the public if they are going to buy the product."

The research found that the weed wild turnip was affected by gene flow
when planted next to GM oilseed rape, prompting fears that it could
become resistant to herbicides.

Further research on cross-contamination will be revealed by the Farm
Scale Evaluations, the final results of which will be published in
early 2004.




Meacher denies 'burying' GM bad news

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/env...p?story=365464

By Marie Woolf, Chief Political Correspondent
The Independent, 31 December 2002

Michael Meacher, the Environment minister, admitted yesterday that the
publication on Christmas Eve of a crucial government study on
contamination by genetically modified crops was a mistake.

But Mr Meacher denied his department had deliberately tried to "bury"
the report detailing evidence that GM crops grown experimentally in
Britain had contaminated conventional crops and weeds.

The report found evidence that wild turnip, a weed, was contaminated
by genes from GM oilseed rape when they were planted side by side.
This could lead to the development of herbicide-resistant hybrids that
are difficult to kill.

The report is a setback for the Government, which next year will have
to take a crucial decision on whether to press ahead with commercial
planting of GM crops.

Mr Meacher, speaking on BBC Radio 4, said he entirely agreed that the
"Christmas Eve timing was unfortunate". He said the decision to
release the report hours before the only day of the year on which
newspapers were not published was a blunder rather than an attempt to
conceal its findings. "We weren't trying to bury it," he said.

"It is another case of cock-up rather than conspiracy."

Mr Meacher said he had not been told the report would be issued and
admitted the timing looked conspiratorial. "The Kremlinologists are
going to have a field day about this." Mr Meacher said the study,
which included six years of data, confirmed evidence from overseas
that GM crops could breed with native species, creating hybrids.

"The fact is, this information has been known since the early 1990s,"
he said. "These findings are not new, they simply confirm what was
already known. You can't eliminate cross- contamination, you can only
minimise it, and try to keep it below a level which is acceptable to
the public if they are going to buy the product."

On Thu, 02 Jan 2003 09:33:14 +0000, Marcus Williamson
wrote:



December 30, 2002

Government denies burying GM report
by pa news

A wise man once recommended not to ascribe to malice that which can
readily be explained by incompetence. Seems to apply here.


___________________________________________
Unit #02582: Endangered Old-Growth Redwood
Toothpick Artisans, LLC [TINEO-GRTALLC]
--
Frivolity is a stern taskmaster.

"Charles Hawtrey" wrote in message
...

A wise man once recommended not to ascribe to malice that which can
readily be explained by incompetence. Seems to apply here.

That sounds very wise to me :-)

M