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The British government indicated last week that there will be no commercial planting of genetically modified crops until it is satisfied that the risk they pose to human health and the environment is negligible.

Ministers insist that this has always been the government's policy, but environmentalist pressure groups are claiming that it represents a climb-down in response to the largely media-generated pressure of the past two weeks for a three-year moratorium on commercial planting while the risks are properly assessed.

The government has created a sub-panel attached to its Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment to assess the risks of genetically modified crops to farm management practices and wildlife.

Last October, the government and the biotechnology industry agreed a one-year delay to the commercial introduction of herbicide-tolerant crops, and a three-year delay to insect-tolerant varieties, pending the completion of farm-scale trials.

The prospect of a further delay has been criticized by both industry and the scientific community, particularly as it could lead to companies and research councils cutting funding for plant biotechnology research.

Such a development, however, could result in additional funds becoming available for research into biotechnology for healthcare, a view shared by Ray Baker, chief executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. “We'll have to put less money into [agricultural biotechnology] if there are no products at the end. We don't have the resources to do both.”

Further delays could also boost the government's plans to promote biotechnology-based businesses, part of its support for more knowledge-based development. The Department of Trade and Industry is believed to want these businesses to focus on products in healthcare, rather than agriculture.