Dr. Brian R. Johnson, head of English Nature’s biotechnology advisory unit has said “generalized statements about environmental risks from GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are worthless and have no place in regulation.”

Johnson explained that conventional agriculture damages natural systems because land taken for agriculture destroys natural forests, wetlands, and grasslands.

Overgrazing, irrigation, and arable production can destroy soils. He stressed that we need food but not more of the conventional type of agriculture.

The counterclaim was disclosed during a recent seminar on the United Kingdom’s experiences in assessing the environmental risks caused by GMOs. English Nature is an independent government advisory agency responsible for looking after UK’s biodiversity.

“The more intensified the (agricultural) system is, the more damages it cause the environment,” Johnson added.

Some novel crops, such as canola, are inherently toxic even without any new genes. Some can even exchange genes with other crops or with wild relatives, he claimed.

The UK experience, according to Johnson, shows that each crop has different characteristics and carries different potential risks. Risks from GM crops are sometimes different from conventional crops but not necessarily higher. He emphasized that case-to-case assessments are always necessary but it should be done for all novel crops and not solely for GM crops.

“Let’s raise the profile of ecological assessment so that we’ll truly understand the impact of cropping systems,” Johnson encouraged the audience.

He also tossed a challenge to policymakers. “[In] all risk assessments, at the end of the day, the final decision depends on your policy on what you actually want out of your environment. It is informed by science but at the end of the day, it has to be a political judgment,” he concluded.

The one-hour seminar entitled “Assessing Environmental Risks from GMOs—Experiences from the UK” was held at Umali auditorium of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in Los Baños, Laguna.

National Academy of Science and Technology members; University of the Philippines Los Baños students and faculty members; Institute of Plant Breeding experts; Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development environment and policy experts; International Rice Research Institute officials and scientists; Lingkod Tao-Kalikasan environmental activists; and members of other concerned organizations attended the seminar. NAST and SEAMEO--SEARCA sponsored the seminar through the latter’s Biotechnology Information Center.