WHY WON'T PRESCOTT ANSWER OUR GM QUESTIONS? | ||
Nottingham |
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) |