UK SOIL ASSOCIATION BRIEFING ON BIOTECH POTATOES

Summary:

- potatoes are a staple food, generally considered wholesome. There can be no market for GM potatoes in the UK. They were rejected by major food companies in the US in 2002, including McDonalds McCain's, Burger King and Pringles. This morning, the British Retail Consortium said UK supermarkets won't be stocking them

- these blight resistant varieties offer little environmental benefit as only 1,300t of the 12,000t of pesticide applied each year to potatoes in the UK is fungicides

- any contamination would be serious as it would result in whole potatoes being GMOs

- the direct risk of GM contamination of normal non-GM food crops via cross-pollination would be less with GM potatoes than the risk from GM cereals or oilseed crops, as potatoes are tubers, not seed. But, as Defra have acknowledged, there is risk of contamination in later years via potato 'volunteers'

- a plot-scale study found a very high rate of cross-pollination, with 31% of plants being hybrids 1km from a GM variety. Normal farm-scale fields would pose a much higher risk of cross-fertilisation.

- moreover, blight resistant varieties like this GM variety pose a much higher risk of GM contamination, as the flowering heads are likely to be left much longer

- there are major health concerns with GM pototoes. Two animal feeding trials, one funded by the UK Government, have found that GM potatoes cause lesions in the gut of animals

- GM potatoes are completely unnecessary. With cnventional breeding of existing potato varieties, non-GM blight resistant varieties are currently being developed and trialled by the organic sector