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WHY WON'T PRESCOTT ANSWER OUR GM QUESTIONS?

Nottingham

Nottingham FOE's third letter to DETR

On May 1 1999, Nottingham FOE wrote a third letter to the Government's Biotechnology Unit concerning the Monsanto trial of GM sugar beet near Ruddington, Notts. This was in response to information that a similar trial had taken place the previous year with a separation of only 1-2 metres between a GM crop and a commercial sugar beet crop. The first seven questions relate to this trial, and the rest are about GM trials in general.

Questions asked 1/5/99

Answers by 30/7/99

1) Do you consider it acceptable to plant a GM beet crop in the same field as a commercial crop? (NO ANSWER)
2) What separation do you consider to be necessary between GM sugar beet and commercial sugar beet? (NO ANSWER)
3) What do you consider to be the maximum distance that beet bolters can travel in a growing season? (NO ANSWER)
4) What do you consider the minimum time for beet bolters to flower and create pollen? (NO ANSWER)
5) Have you received a report on last year's trial? If so, what modifications to this year's trial have you required as a result. (NO ANSWER)
6) When did you first receive notice of a GM trial on this site? (NO ANSWER)
7) What are the basic conditions you require for GM beet trials in general? Have any additional conditions or exemptions been allowed for this site? (NO ANSWER)
8) Will there be any trials designed to assess the risk of contaminating other crops or wild or volunteer' species before commercial GM production is allowed? (NO ANSWER)
9) Have there been any trials to assess the risks of transferring the cauliflower mosaic virus, or similar, to other crops or wild species? (NO ANSWER)
10) Have there been any trials to assess the risks of antibiotic markers' having an adverse effect on humans or animals? (NO ANSWER)
11) Will you require GM crops to be proven free from any modified proteins which could cause allergies before allowing them into the food chain for humans or animals? (NO ANSWER)

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NFOE letter 1

NFOE letter 2

NFOE letter 3

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Last updated: 30 July 1999