Letter: Growing poverty

THE GOVERNMENT's recent report on GMO says that GM technologies are not inherently harmful. The key point is that these technologies are inherently unpredictable. The recent report in Nature of the destruction of the Monarch butterfly is an example. GM technologies are different from traditional breeding techniques as genes can be transferred between completely different species, something that would be very unlikely to occur naturally. Moreover there is a high degree of randomness in the actual methods of inserting the foreign gene into the new organism. The process of genetic engineering can introduce new allergens and fatal toxins into foods that were previously naturally safe. Already, one genetically engineered soybean was found to cause severe allergic reactions.

Gene pollution, once in the environment, is irreversible. It can never be cleaned up. Short-term financial gain is being placed before the health and safety of the whole population.

BARRY SPIVACK

Milton Keynes