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Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what separation distance would be required to keep the contamination of non-GM crops with GM varieties below a level of 0.1 per cent. for (a) maize, (b) oil-seed rape and (c) sugar beet. - Inc figures.

Asked by

Lord Barker of Battle (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

9 February 2004

For answer on

11 March 2004

Answered on

11 March 2004

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what separation distance would be required to keep the contamination of non-GM crops with GM varieties below a level of 0.1 per cent. for (a) maize, (b) oil-seed rape and (c) sugar beet. [154708] Mr. Morley: The European Union has agreed a threshold of 0.9 per cent. for labelling adventitious GM presence in non-GM products. We recognise that there are arguments for a lower threshold to apply particularly in relation to organic production, although no conclusion has been reached on this. The separation distances needed between fields to limit cross-pollination to 0.1 per cent. (on a whole-field basis) were considered in a review produced for Defra in 2000 by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB). This suggested the following distances on the basis of fields of an average size of two hectares or more: oilseed rape (fully-fertile varieties): 100 metres sweetcorn maize: 420 metres forage maize: 290 metres No distance was estimated in relation to sugar beet because cross-pollination does not affect the composition of the utilised plant tissues (only vegetative parts of the plant are harvested, rather than seeds or fruits). Moreover, beet crops are normally harvested before they flower and farmers usually control any `bolting' plants that flower prematurely. The information in the NIAB report needs to be considered further in the light of data from a Defra- funded research report on gene flow from the GM maize crops in the Farm Scale Evaluation (FSE) trials (available at: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/gm/ research/epg-1-5-138.htm). This study concluded that in the case of a GM and non-GM maize crop growing alongside each other, the rate of individual GM cross- pollination events (per maize kernel) would be below 0.1 per cent. at a distance of 258 metres into the non-GM crop. A parallel report on gene flow from the FSE oilseed rape crops is in preparation and will be published in due course. Another relevant Defra-funded research project has studied landscape-scale gene flow in oilseed rape crops (report available at: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/ gm/research/epg-rg0216.htm). This does not estimate the separation distances needed for specific cross- pollination thresholds, but it notes that relatively small distances will limit cross-pollination between fully- fertile oilseed rape varieties to around 0.1 per cent. or below, and that pollination from one field to the next is likely to be less than 0.1 per cent. averaged over the field. At present it is difficult to estimate the separation distances that would be needed for a 0.1 per cent. threshold in relation to oilseed rape varieties that are not fully-fertile. Further information that is relevant to this will be provided by the report noted above on gene flow from the FSE oilseed rape crops.

Date

11 March 2004

Reference

418 c1629-30W;418 c1631-2W; 154708

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many GM plants per square metre would be expected to grown in a field of conventional crops of which 0.9 per cent. of plants are GM in respect of (a) oil seed rape, (b) sugar beet and...

Asked by

Lord Barker of Battle (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

10 March 2004

Reference

418 c1544W;418 c1546W; 158276

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations the devolved administrations in (a) Wales and (b) Scotland have made to her Department regarding the growing of Chardon LL maize in the UK.

Asked by

Lord Barker of Battle (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

25 February 2004

Reference

418 c419W;418 c439W; 154705

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what separation distances she recommends should be imposed between GM and non-GM or organic crops of (a) sugar or fodder beet, (b) maize and (c) oilseed rape, to avoid contamination of the non-GM or organic crop above 0.01...

Asked by

Lord Barker of Battle (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

22 March 2002

For answer on

22 July 2002

Answered on

22 July 2002

Mr. Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what separation distances she recommends should be imposed between GM and non-GM or organic crops of (a) sugar or fodder beet, (b) maize and (c) oilseed rape, to avoid contamination of the non-GM or organic crop above 0.01 per cent. [46621] Mr. Meacher: There are insufficient data to determine separation distances between crops that would achieve a cross-pollination threshold of 0.01 per cent. Furthermore, 0.01 per cent. is below the level at which an incidental GM presence can reliably be quantified with current analytical methods. In 2000 the National Institute or Agricultural Botany (NIAB) reported on the separation distances required to ensure that cross-pollination is below specified limits. These distances for oilseed rape and maize are shown in Table 1. NIAB did not recommend a distance for beet crops because beet is biennial and generally does not flower in the year of harvest, and any "bolters" can and should be removed before flowering. In addition, incoming pollen would not affect the vegetative parts of the plant (beet root and foliage). In 2001 the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment augmented the NIAB advice in respect of maize (Table 2). The NIAB study took account of work undertaken for the Soil Association by the National Pollen Research Unit (NPRU) which recommended separation distances to achieve an incidental GM presence which was not quantified but described as "very low risk". These distances are shown in Table 3. The NIAB study also reviewed work from a variety of researchers, such as Jones and Brooks-- "Effectiveness of distance and border rows in preventing outcrossing in corn"; Oklahoma Agricultural Experimental Station, Technical Bulletin No. T-38, 1950. Table 1: Summary of separation distances (m) required to maintain cross-pollination of the whole fields at below specified levels for fields of 2ha or more metres _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Threshold levels of cross-pollination Crop 1% 0.5% 0.1% Oilseed rape (B. napus and rapa) Conventional varieties and 1.5 10 100 restored hybrids Varietal associations and 100 {1}-- {1}-- partially restored hybrids Maize/sweetcorn For grain 200 300 {1}-- For silage 130 200 420 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} Insufficient information to produce a recommendation (see report for more detail). Source: NIAB report "Review of the use of separation distances between genetically modified and other crops", August 2000. Table 2: Summary of ACRE's advice on cross-pollination in relation to Farm Scale Evaluations of Genetically Modified Maize, 1 May 2001 metres _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Separation distances from GM maize{ 1} Neighbouring crop Adventitious GM presence in the grain or silage (upper limit) (organic and non-organic) 1% 0.5% 0.1% Maize grown for grain (sweetcorn, 130 200 420 seed crops) Maize grown for silage (forage 80 130 290 maize) _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} The table refers to varieties of GM maize, such as that used in the farm scale evaluations, which are heterozygous for the GM trait. For any homozygous varieties the amount of GM presence will be approximately double the above figures at the same separation distances. NPRU's recommended "very low risk distances", January 2000 metres _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Crop Very low risk distance Maize 3,000 Sugar beet {1}1,000 Oil seed rape 6,000 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} 3,000 metres were recommended between GM beet and organic seed production.

Date

22 July 2002

Reference

389 c700-2W; 46621

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects the European Commission to respond to the action taken by the National Assembly of Wales under the safeguard clause of the EU Deliberate Release Directive in respect of GM maize being grown in the United...

Asked by

Lord Barker of Battle (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

12 April 2002

Reference

46639; 383 c652W;383 c650W

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which EU member states have been notified of the action taken by the National Assembly for Wales under the safeguard clause of the EU Deliberate Release Directive in respect of GM maize being grown in the UK; and...

Asked by

Lord Barker of Battle (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

12 April 2002

Reference

46640; 383 c652W;383 c650W

House

House of Commons

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