london

The British government, farmers, and the biotechnology industry are considering how to respond to destruction of genetically modified crop trials by ‘eco-warrior’ environmentalist groups.

Possible options include greater security around trial sites; carrying out trials in closed, company-owned locations, rather than fields owned by farmers; and simply not publicizing their specific location in a field.

Concern is mounting following an incident last week when protesters destroyed a crop of genetically modified maize in Devon, causing losses of £600,000 (US$978,000). The crop was being assessed for a commercial seed listing, having passed safety tests.

The trial was at the centre of an unsuccessful court challenge by a coalition of groups including a nearby farmer and Friends of the Earth. They wanted it stopped, partly out of concern that it might pollinate a nearby crop of organic sweetcorn (see Nature 394, 212; 1998).

John McLeod, director of the National Institute for Agricultural Botany (NIAB), which was carrying out the Devon maize trial, is opposed to carrying out trials behind closed doors. He says they need to be carried out in open environments, particularly where pollination is being measured.

But while he remains committed to openness and transparency, McLeod says he is now beginning to have reservations about publicizing the specific location of genetically modified trials. The law requires the government to publicize the location of a crop trial. However, there is no requirement to make the exact field grid reference public knowledge.

Government sources say they have considered changing their current practice of making specific crop sites public knowledge.

But the sources, as well as the company which was developing the Devon maize, Sharpes International Seeds, say this would be a retrograde step. “Having been so open now, we can't possibly go back,” says a government official.

The Devon destruction is the latest in a string of incidents involving a new and relatively unknown group by the name of GenetiX Snowball, comprising environmental activists and local residents opposed to genetic modification in agriculture.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is to speed up the seed certification process by waiving the requirement on companies to show results of two of their own seed trials before submitting seed for a government-monitored trial.

A ministry spokesman said that this did not have implications for safety, which would already have been assessed by the Department of the Environment before any seed was passed onto the agriculture ministry for certification.