Threat to GM foods’ future

POWERFUL lobby groups opposed to genetically modified (GM) food are threatening public acceptance of the technology in Europe, research suggests.

They are also hampering Europe’s response to the global challenge of securing food supplies for current and future generations, researchers claim.

Drawing on a decade of evidence, researchers from the University of Edinburgh and Warwick University say Europe’s regulation of GM crops has become less democratic and less evidence-based since the 1980s.

Anti-GM groups such as organic food lobbyists and environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) dominate the decision making process, they claim, resulting in greater restriction of plant biotechnology research and development in Europe.