English Nature called for these limited trials should last at least three years, but the Government has, in fact, announced three contracts for four year farm-scale trials. There is justification for a precautionary approach to these developments, and I am pressing the Government accordingly. Unfortunately, science cannot offer people what they really want - total certainty. Scientists are seldom in a position to say 'never', the word the public wants to hear. It is impossible to prove a negative.
Risk assessment is about probabilities, rather than certainties.
The reason I feel so confident about the safety of GM crop products on the market now is that ingredients derived from GM crops are chemically identical to those from traditional sources, which, experience tells us, have been used safely for a very long time. Of course, we know that traditional foods are not always safe. I take a calculated risk every time I eat cheese made with unpasteurised milk because I see the advantage of improved taste. Apart from natural suspicions aroused by lack of crop segregation, another concern with GM food currently available is that people cannot see any obvious advantages to them. The Government has announcement that it will set up a Biotechnology Commission.