Tesco bars crops from fields used in GM tests 

David Brown / Telegraph 7jan00

TESCO has warned farmers that it will not accept any fruit and vegetables grown in fields used to test genetically modified crops.

Britain's largest supermarket chain said yesterday that the ban was in response to fears among customers and some scientists that traces of GM material could linger on the land and contaminate non-GM crops subsequently grown there.

The move, which could hit the future value of farmland on 60 sites earmarked for forthcoming Government trials of GM oilseed rape and maize, was welcomed by environmentalists but attacked by farmers' leaders. Rival retail chains dismissed it as "a stunt".

Tesco, which is phasing out GM ingredients from its own-label food range, said it would hold consultations to determine the length of time GM experimental fields should be kept out of commercial crop production.

News of the Tesco move was broken by Lord Melchett, the executive director of Greenpeace, at the Oxford farming conference where he urged producers to switch to organic farming instead of continuing with "industrialised" forms of agriculture.

Tesco said that it was responding to inquiries from suppliers who wanted to clarify where they stood. While no Tesco suppliers had so far taken part in GM crop trials, the instruction was aimed at future practice. "We are not saying you cannot get involved in a government trial if you supply Tesco," the company said. "We are saying that you cannot plant a Tesco crop in the same field, which to us is common sense."

The Cabinet Office dismissed the move as a "marketing ploy" and said there was no scientific basis for the restriction.

The National Farmers' Union of England and Wales said: "There is no scientific basis for Tesco to demand this. We are extremely concerned about the logistical and financial implications for farmers involved in GM trials. We are urgently seeking clarification from Tesco about how long these restrictions would apply to land used for GM trials."

Marks and Spencer, which has already removed GM ingredients from all of its food products in response to customer demand, said last night that it saw "no benefit" from banning crops in future from land used for GM trials.

Sainsbury and Safeway both said last night that they would not be adopting the Tesco stance.

source; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=004230638848913&rtmo=0xXNbKxq&atmo=rrrrrrrq&pg=/et/00/1/7/ngm07.html 26jan01