Major British Study Pans GM Crops as Harmful to Wildlife

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Major British Study Pans GM Crops as Harmful to Wildlife

 

Bad news just keeps on coming for British backers of genetically

modified foods, a group whose most high-profile member is Prime

Minister Tony Blair. The latest: A three-year government

investigation billed as the world's largest study of the

environmental effects of GM crops has found that birds, bees,

butterflies, and other wildlife in farm areas are harmed much more by

the strong herbicides used with GM crops than by the weedkillers used

in conventional farming. This could throw a wrench into British

government plans to authorize the planting of GM crops in the

country, and it's likely to bolster support for a Europe-wide GM ban.

Also this week, biotech giant Monsanto, with its proverbial tail

between its legs, announced that it is shutting down many of its

European operations and laying off two-thirds of its employees in

Britain.

 

straight to the source: London Independent, Michael McCarthy, 17 Oct 2003

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