Public consultation on the hundreds of test sites has been described by FOE as pitiful and meaningless. FOE has analysed Government approvals for genetic engineered test sites over the past 5 years, and has identified 310 test sites in the UK countryside. Most sites are testing crops that can withstand doses of weedkiller, in particular AgrEvo's Challenge and Monsanto's RoundUp. No genetically modified crops can be grown commercially in the UK at present. But FOE's research shows that genetically engineered crops are widely grown on an experimental basis.
Some test sites are the size of one hundred football pitches.
Public consultation on test sites has been virtually non-existent. Companies must put a notice in a local newspaper but no formal consultation takes place. No application has been turned down due to local opposition. Once out in the environment these new organisms can replicate and reproduce. The long term consequences of allowing so many test sites are unknown and frankly reckless given our present understanding of this technology.