Britain\'s Co-op supermarket group rejects GM crops
LONDON - Britain\'s Co-op supermarket group this week said it would reject any
government proposal that paved the way for commercial plantings of genetically
modified (GMO) crops in the UK. The food retailer - also Britain\'s largest
farmer with 85,000 acres (34,400 hectares) of land - said an independent survey
of 1,183 of its customers and members had found that 55 percent were against GM,
while a further 38 percent said they were yet to be convinced of its benefits.
Co-op said 78 percent of those surveyed by pollsters NOP also said they had yet
to be convinced that the commercial growing of GM crops should be allowed in
Britain. As a result, Co-op said it had decided against growing GM crops on its
own land, selling GM food under its own brand, or investing bank customers\'
money in GM technology. The Co-op group, which sells around five billion pounds
($8.37 billion) worth of food annually through 1,800 convenience stores, also
owns the UK\'s Co-operative Bank (CPBB_p.L: Quote, Profile, Research) . \"We
have listened to the experts on both sides of the debate, but on the strength of
current scientific knowledge, and the overwhelming opposition of our members,
the Co-op is saying no to the commercial growing of GM crops in the UK,\" Martin
Beaumont, the group\'s chief executive, said in a statement. Scientists in
Britain last week ruled that after three years of farm-scale trials some GM
crops were more harmful to wildlife than those grown conventionally, further
fuelling demands for the government to keep them from being grown commercially.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
LONDON - Britain\'s Co-op supermarket group this week said it would reject any government proposal that paved the way for commercial plantings of genetically modified (GMO) crops in the UK.
The food retailer - also Britain\'s largest farmer with 85,000 acres (34,400 hectares) of land - said an independent survey of 1,183 of its customers and members had found that 55 percent were against GM, while a further 38 percent said they were yet to be convinced of its benefits.
Co-op said 78 percent of those surveyed by pollsters NOP also said they had yet to be convinced that the commercial growing of GM crops should be allowed in Britain.
As a result, Co-op said it had decided against growing GM crops on its own land, selling GM food under its own brand, or investing bank customers\' money in GM technology.
The Co-op group, which sells around five billion pounds ($8.37 billion) worth of food annually through 1,800 convenience stores, also owns the UK\'s Co-operative Bank (CPBB_p.L: Quote, Profile, Research) .
\"We have listened to the experts on both sides of the debate, but on the strength of current scientific knowledge, and the overwhelming opposition of our members, the Co-op is saying no to the commercial growing of GM crops in the UK,\" Martin Beaumont, the group\'s chief executive, said in a statement.
Scientists in Britain last week ruled that after three years of farm-scale trials some GM crops were more harmful to wildlife than those grown conventionally, further fuelling demands for the government to keep them from being grown commercially.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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