British scientists play down dangers of GM crops
By Patricia Reaney
LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) - British scientists played down the
dangers of antibiotic resistance marker genes in genetically modified
foods on Wednesday, saying the threat to human health was
negligible.
One of the major health concerns about marker genes is that they
could be transferred to the bacteria in the guts of animals or humans
and make antibiotics used to fight diseases less effective.
"There are more likely ways you will get antibacterial resistance,"
Professor Tom Sanders, of Kings College in London, said during a
public debate about GM foods.
The nutritional expert and a member of the government's advisory
committee on food and safety (ACNFP) said the risk of resistance
was much higher through over use by doctors and veterinarians than
through GM crops.
Sanders was one of a panel of experts from government, industry,
academia and environmental groups who fielded questions from the
public about the safety, ethics and potential dangers that GM crops
and foods posed to people and the environment.
GM foods have dominated headlines in the British press in recent
weeks. Prince Charles, heir-to-the-throne and a dedicated organic
farmer, publicly questioned its safety in a front-page newspaper article
earlier this week.
One of the 10 questions in his article was the possibility that the new
crops, particularly those that had been made resistant to antibiotics,
could produce unexpected toxic or allergic reactions.
Dr Colin Merritt, technical manager for biotechnology at Monsanto
<MTC.N>, the life science company that produces genetically modified
maize and soya, said the chance of the marker genes inducing
resistance to drugs was "infinitesimally small."
But Adrian Bebb, a campaigner for the environmental group Friends of
the Earth which has led a campaign against GM foods, argued that no
product with the marker should enter the food chain.
Despite government recommendations that the markers should be
phased out as swiftly as possible, Friends of the Earth say 12
applications submitted for inclusion on the UK National Seed List
contain antibiotic resistance marker genes.
"We don't know the long-term impacts on our health and the
environment," Beeb said, adding there should be a five-year freeze on
the use of GM crops.
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