The Guardian: Joint US-UK cover-up alleged over GM maize

The whereabouts of 170,000 tonnes of contaminated GM maize and its possible import into the UK has caused an international investigation and claims of a cover-up on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) first put out a statement saying the contamination was “on a small scale” but later retracted it, instead saying the maize was unlikely to have got into food but might have been fed to cattle.

The lessons of the BSE crisis well-learned then.

What’s puzzling is when you compare the lack of fuss over this rather disturbing debacle with the hysteria over Sudan 1 - a chemical so dangerous you’d have to eat a block the size of Alan Milburn’s ego to suffer any lasting harm.

The GM maize in question is Syngenta’s BT10 which contains a gene that is resistant to certain antibiotics and is unlicensed in Europe. Thanks to Syngenta it was mixed with a similar corn, BT11, and it’s been in the food chain as cattle feed for four years. You’d think in age of MRSA the phrase “resistant to antibiotics” would be pushing more buttons.

But the fix is in, and the spin has been spun:

A Syngenta spokesman said 150,000 tonnes would have been marketed but it believed only a tiny amount reached Europe. Only 18% of US maize was exported and less than 1% came to Europe. He conceded that, before 2004, GM maize destined for Europe was not labelled, so it would be impossible to know where it had gone. The company and the US authorities were investigating and would notify all concerned as soon as possible.

“Less than 1%” to Europe. That’s still quite a few tons. And “only 18%” was exported. To where? Was it fed to the Argentinian cattle who went on to become the steaks I saw in a supermarket the other day? Just because the maize itself didn’t reach these shores doesn’t mean a health risk didn’t.

You can see why, with Tony heading for the Palace on Monday, DEFRA might have wanted to keep this quiet. And it’s in a lot of people’s interests to keep the public ignorant on the wider issues surrounding GM.

I am myself speaking from a position ignorance when it comes to the health risks posed by GM crops and food. But then, so is everybody else.