GM Panel Not Balanced, Says Scientist

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Thursday, 24 July 2003

Professor Carlo Leifert has explained why he resigned from the government's GM science review panel in an article published by The Guardian. Leifert writes, 'It quickly became apparent that the panel wasn't balanced enough to produce an objective report. Most of the biologists who really understand the technical details of some of the arguments were strongly pro-GM. For me the final straw came when someone from the biotech industry was asked to write the chapter on food safety. In my opinion, this report is not carefully enough researched to give the green light to GM and doesn't identify the uncertainties well enough. I don't believe that the Government has tried to force the science review in any particular direction to push an agenda. My feeling is they are concerned that GM technology could be risky to human health and the environment. I feel that the bias came from the strong lobby of pro-GM scientists and biotechnology representatives on the panel. We still have to check that there isn't some inherent problem with the technology.'
Source: www.soilassociation.org