The genetic modification of crops
Mon, 26 January 1998
The Genetic Modification Of Crops
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics announced today a major new inquiry on the genetic modification of crops. The Working Party will seek the publics views in a consultation planned later in the year. Its terms of reference are:
- To briefly review the developments on the genetic modification of crops and their impact on human food consumption and the environment.
- To identify and consider the ethical and social implications of these developments including:
a. issues of food safety and public health
b. issues of environmental protection
c. the public interest and the maintenance of consumer choice and ` public confidence
d. the appropriateness of the criteria used at present by regulatory bodies in the UK and in the EU
e. the implications for less developed countries
f. the implications for farming practices and rural life
g. the implications of intellectual property issues
h. the responsibilities of scientists in advising policymakers on these issues and to make recommendations.
The Working Party expects to report early in 1999.
Members of the Working Party on The Genetic Modification of Plants
Professor Alan Ryan (Chairman) is Warden of New College, University of Oxford
Professor Derek Burke CBE is a former Vice Chancellor of the University of East Anglia, and was Chairman of the Advisory Committee for Novel Foods and Processes (1988-97)
Doctor Mike Gale FRS is Associate Research Director, The John Innes Centre, Norwich
Professor Brian Heap FRS CBE is Master of St Edmunds College, University of Cambridge. Senior Visiting Fellow, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge and a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.
Miss Prue Leith OBE is Deputy Chairman of the Royal Society of Arts
Miss Julie Hill is Programme Advisor to the Green Alliance, an environmental charity and a member of ACRE (Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment)
Professor Steve Hughes is the Unilever Research Professor at the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Exeter
Professor Michael Lipton is at the University of Sussex (formerly at the Institute of Development Studies and the School of African and Asian Studies)
Mr Derek Osborn CB is Chairman of the European Environment Agency and a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.
Note To Editors
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is an independent body which examines the ethical issues raised by developments in medicine and biology. Established in 1991, it is funded by The Nuffield Foundation, the Medical Research Council and the Welcome Trust.
The inquiry into the Genetic Modification of Plants follows the publication of the Nuffield Councils well-received report Animal-to-Human Transplants the ethics of xenotransplantation in 1996. A report on Mental Disorders and Genetics: the ethical context will be published later in 1998.
Last Updated Thu, 24 June 2004