GM Freeze, a campaign group which represents the Soil Association, Friends of the Earth and Elm Farm Organic Research Centre, has called for a public consultation on genetically modified (GM) crops following last week’s approval of a GM wheat trial to be conducted in Hertfordshire. Defra’s decision to authorise the trial was heavily criticised by GM Freeze, who said it was "premature".  image expired

The trial, of wheat which contains genes found in peppermints and cows to release a smell that repels aphids, will be the first of its kind in the UK since the 1990s. It will take place between March 2012 and September 2013. Scientists believe the transgenic crop will help reduce pesticide use, although campaigners have expressed reservations about the science and potential environmental impact of the trial.

Pete Riley, spokesperson for GM Freeze, said, "Because the GM wheat contains a synthetic gene based on a gene found in cows, we think this is a new departure for GM developments in the UK. We think it’s important to hold a public consultation on whether that is an acceptable use of genetic materials in the food chain."

 No commercial GM crops are currently grown in the UK. However, GM Freeze claims UK research institutions and Defra have "an obsession with GM." The group said there is "a yawning gap in research capacity and funding" for long-term, sustainable solutions to agricultural challenges based around agro-ecology. The group has written to Defra expressing this opinion and demanding a public consultation on the use of animal genes in plant foods.

GM Freeze said their claims are backed up by a Royal Society report, which stated the UK is falling behind in agroecology research; the Royal Society stated that research and knowledge transfer in agroecology are in “decline” in the UK and called for funding bodies and universities to reverse this trend. Pete Riley said of the Defra approval, "The decision to approve an open-air trial of GM wheat is a big mistake and premature given the serious lack of information in the application."