Lochhead taken to task over GM ban

BACKLASH: Royal Society of Edinburgh seeks urgent meeting with Rural Affairs Secretary

The proposed ban on growing GM crops threatens to undermine our ability . . . by turning our back on proven technology that others will use. DAME PROFESSOR ANNE GLOVER

As became abundantly clear yesterday, the scientific community across the UK is not prepared to accept the Scottish Government’s ban on GM cropping at face value.

The Royal Society of Edinburgh, an organisation with an impeccable record of promoting science going back more than 230 years, has written to Scotland’s Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead urgently seeking an opportunity to discuss the matter.

The letter has 29 signatories, mostly from scientific bodies, but with some notable omissions including SRUC and the James Hutton Institute.

The letter accuses Mr Lochhead of leaving Scotland without access to innovations which make farming more sustainable elsewhere in the world.

It continues: “This decision (to ban GM cropping) is not based on any informed scientific assessment of risk. This is, of course, your prerogative. It is an approach to science that disappoints many scientists and non-scientists alike.”

The letter speaks of a 20-year track record of safe use of GM crops, and adds; “Scottish researchers and agricultural challenges such as potato blight and tree diseases have informed that scientific development. Will they now be prevented from making further contributions in the future?”

The RSE is not alone in what has become a chorus of disapproval.

Professor Muffy Calder – until last November the Scottish Government’s chief scientific adviser – has spoken out in recent days about a lack of scientific evidence-taking, and has also queried the absence of any survey of public opinion about GM.

Prof Calder’s post has now been vacant for nine months.

Bristow Muldoon, head of policy at RSE, said: “We are really concerned about this. Richard Lochhead does, however, have a scientific adviser in post specifically for rural affairs, but we do not know if she has been consulted.”

This special adviser is Professor Louise Heathwaite, from Lancaster University.

This newspaper made a specific query to the Scottish Government to ascertain whether Prof Heathwaite had been consulted before Mr Lochhead made his GM statement last week.

At the time of going to press, no response had been received.

Dame Professor Anne Glover, formerly chief scientific adviser to the Scottish Government and then the European Commission, spoke out yesterday on the matter.

She has long been a supporter of a science-based approach to GM cropping and, indeed, her frankness on the subject is believed to have contributed to EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker deciding not to replace her when her term of office ran out earlier this year.

Speaking after a BBC radio interview where she pointed out that she was not aware of any scientific evidence being taken on GM before Mr Lochhead made his announcement, she said: “Scotland is a premier global science nation and, as such, has both a reputation to defend as well as an obligation to demonstrate leadership in the safe use of new technology.

“The proposed ban on growing GM crops threatens to undermine our ability to maintain competitiveness by turning our back on proven technology that others will use.”

Three Scottish universities and the Roslin Institute signed the RSE letter.

A spokesman for the Hutton Institute said it was asked to sign, but preferred to give evidence to Mr Lochhead’s Future of Farming consultation.

An SRUC spokesman said the organisation was not asked to sign, but would always support an approach based on scientific evidence.

Dame Professor Anne Glover said she was not aware of any scientific evidence being taken on GM before Mr Lochhead made his announcement on the issue.