Evening Standard (London)

'Food Debate Must Stick To The Facts'

Richard Powell, of the pharmaceutical giant Novartis, was tonight due to put the case for the makers of "designer food" at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in an evening devoted to the ethics of genetically modified products.

Today he went on the offensive, however, saying: "A lot of people have closed minds on this - they are not interested in facts and research. Those calling for a five-year moratorium will demand another five-year moratorium in five years' time, regardless of the facts."

Ranged against Mr Powell, however, is an increasingly influential body of opinion. One of the strongest critics of genetically modified foods is the Prince of Wales. He recently became patron of the chemical-free agriculture body, the Soil Association, and has long campaigned against the "unproven" technology.

Nevertheless, Mr Powell believes the debate is clouded by misinformation.

"We need to take the emotive rhetoric out of the issue and stick to the facts," he said. "We don't just say: 'Hey, here's a new product, let's throw this out to the market' - there's a whole lot of rigorous testing and screening by ourselves and governments.

"For example, our modified maize has gone through 30 different screening tests and trials. But it is important to remember that they don't say it's safe, but safe as a commercial crop."

Mr Powell works in seed and crop protection on the agri-business arm of the multi-national. Despite a long history in America, the company is only now carrying out research in Britain.

"We work on sugar beet, cereals, oil seed rape, flowers and vegetables. A lot of our products won't be out here for a few years yet, but they will be safe," he said.

Among those opposing his view at the ICA tonight will be Dr John Godfrey, from the umbrella group Consumers in Europe. Today he urged far greater caution in the licensing of genetically-modified foods - although he conceded that they could yet have benefits for mankind.

"There are good things being done like improvements to the nutritional quality of food and work making crops more durable in severe climate," he said.

"With the changes in the world's climate, this could become more important, particularly in the Third World which is trying to feed itself."

While he does not push for a set moratorium, Dr Godfrey does urge more research into the effects of gene modification. "It could be a problem in the future. Some products have become tolerant to herbicides and spread to other fields. I err on the side of caution."

A spokeswoman for the ICA said the debate - headlined "Dangerous foods: attack of the genetically-modified tomatoes" - would centre on the ethics and commercial aspects of genetically engineered food. The other two speakers are Alan Grey, of the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, and Dr Shirley Coomber, a lecturer in biosciences at King's College, London. The institute spokeswoman said a limited number of tickets remain.