What will happen to non-GM farmers if GM oilseed rape is grown here?
If GM oilseed rape is grown widely in the UK, it will mean that non-GM crops will inevitably be contaminated (often above the 0.9% threshold beyond which a product has to be labelled as containing GM material), as will honey. Farmers could struggle to sell their crops as most supermarkets and food manufacturers demand that foods are GM-free down to the limit of detection, currently 0.1%. The main oilseed rape crusher, ADM, has warned that it may not be possible to provide separate facilities for GM and non-GM crops and that, if GM was grown, non-GM oilseed rape growers would lose their 20 Euro/tonne premium for the crop.18 These are crucial issues for the forthcoming coexistence and liability legislation which has been promised by the Government. If GM oilseed rape is grown, will it cross to wild species? Oilseed rape is related to several wild plants that grow in the UK, including wild turnip. GM oilseed rape can cross with some of these plants and transfer GM genes into the wild gene
