Text: Creation of Panel Urged for Genetically Modified Foods Debate

(Edinburgh Conference Chairman calls for international panel) (1,180)

The chairman of the recent Edinburgh Conference on the scientific and
health aspects of genetically modified (GM) foods has called for an
international consultative panel to address all sides of the GM
debate.

The panel's purpose would be "to inform rather than to make policy,"
said conference chairman Sir John Krebs, professor of Zoology at
Oxford University and the chairman-designate of the future U.K. Food
Standards Agency.

Such a panel "should deal not only with the agricultural and food
aspects of biotechnology but also with a range of other issues
including trade, economic development, and environmental and ethical
questions," said Krebs, whose comments were noted in a press release
issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), which held the conference February 28-March 1 in Edinburgh.

"If such an international discussion did go forward, it would have to
be based on science," Sir John said. "But it has to be science plus
the broader issues of economic development, trade and other concerns
that we have heard here."

OECD Secretary General Donald J. Johnston said the panel is well worth
considering and that the OECD would be in a good position to
facilitate that type of international dialogue.

In a draft summary, the two rapporteurs of the conference -- which was
sponsored by the government of the United Kingdom -- identified
several points of agreement among the majority of the participants, as
well as issues that continue to generate opposing views.

A full report by the chairman of the conference will be published on
the OECD's website later in March at http://www.oecd.org

Following is the text of the OECD press release:

(begin text)

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development 
OECD News
Paris, 1 March 2000

CHAIRMAN OF OECD CONFERENCE CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL CONSULTATIVE PANEL
ON GM FOODS

An OECD conference in Edinburgh on the scientific and health aspects
of genetically modified (GM) foods ended with a call from the
conference chairman for the creation of an international consultative
panel to address all sides of the GM debate.

"There is a case for suggesting the development of some kind of
continuing international dialogue," Sir John Krebs, who is Professor
of Zoology at Oxford University and the chairman-designate of the
future U.K. Food Standards Agency, told delegates at the close of the
three-day conference.

How such a dialogue could be formalised would need to be discussed by
governments in both the developed and the developing world, he said,
adding that in his view its purpose would be "to inform rather than to
make policy". He recommended, however, that such a panel, if it is
created, should deal not only with the agricultural and food aspects
of biotechnology but also with a range of other issues including
trade, economic development, and environmental and ethical questions.
It should take science as its starting point but build on work already
being done in other fora. "If such an international discussion did go
forward, it would have to be based on science," Sir John declared.
"But it has to be science plus the broader issues of economic
development, trade and other concerns that we have heard here."

Commenting on the suggestion, the Secretary General of the OECD,
Donald J. Johnston, said he agreed that it is "an idea that we should
take a hard look at." Any decision would be up to governments, he
noted, but he added that the OECD would be well placed to facilitate
such an international dialogue, as it already does in other areas
ranging from sustainable development to electronic commerce.

The Edinburgh conference -- titled GM Food Safety: Facts,
Uncertainties and Assessment (28 February-1 March) -- brought together
400 participants from more than 40 countries representing governments,
industry and civil society organisations, including Greenpeace
International, Friends of the Earth, and GeneWatch. Hosted by the U.K.
government, the conference forms part of an ongoing programme of work
at the OECD on biotechnology. Its conclusions of the conference will
serve as input into a report that the OECD will submit to the Group of
Eight industrial countries for their summit at Okinawa, Japan, in July
2000. This follows a request from the G8 leaders at their summit in
Cologne in June 1999 that the OECD "undertake a study of the
implications of biotechnology and other aspects of food safety," and
an earlier endorsement of the OECD's biotechnology programme by OECD
ministers in May 1999.

In a draft summary, the two rapporteurs of the conference -- Dr. Peter
Tindemans, a Dutch scientific consultant to governments, international
organisations, and other public and private bodies, and Iain
Gillespie, a British civil servant currently working at the U.K.
Department of Health -- said its purpose had been to seek common
ground on whether and how applications of GM technologies in the food
and crops sector serve the needs for society. They added that the
conference also scrutinised critically whether the systems in place
for the assessment of the risks and benefits of GM food are considered
trustworthy by governments, industry, scientists, social interest
groups and regulatory agencies.

The rapporteurs identified a number of points on which they said there
was general agreement among the majority of the participants. These,
they said, included the need for a more open, transparent and
inclusive debate and for openness and transparency in the policy
process, as well as an acknowledgment that there is potential benefit
to be gained from GM technology. In addition, they noted, many
consumers eat GM foods and no significant effects have yet been
detected on human health.

The rapporteurs added, however, that on many issues there continued to
be opposing views. Some participants, they observed, regard human
health aspects of GM foods as inseparable from wider issues, such as
the impact on the environment, trade and socio-economic factors and
belief systems. There was also disagreement on whether genetic
modification is part of a continuum in the development of tools for
plant breeding, or a fundamental change in the way new crops are
produced, necessitating new ways of assessing food safety.

A further point of contention concerned the issue of whether
individual countries should be allowed to develop GM technology for
food production according to their own needs, or whether there should
be a global moratorium on GM crops. In addition, there was a lack of
complete agreement on such issues as the mandatory labeling of GM
foods, the usefulness of feeding trials in animals of GM foods, and on
the process of assessing consumer concerns. Finally, a need for
further work was identified in relation to the potential long-term
effects of GM food on human health, worker safety, and the
environment.

Further details about the conference can be found on the OECD's
website at http://www.oecd.org. A full report by the chairman of the
conference will be published on the OECD's website later this month.


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