Downing St refuses to say whether David Cameron would eat GM food
Downing Street has refused to say whether David Cameron would eat genetically-modified food or feed it to his family, despite being asked about its safety ten times.
The Government is pushing to legalise more GM food
By
Rowena Mason, Political Correspondent
1:17PM BST 20 Jun 2013
As the Government pushes to legalise more GM food, the Prime Minister's official spokesman repeatedly declined to say whether Mr Cameron considers it good enough for him and his family.
Asked whether it is safe for eat, he would only go as far as saying there is no "credible basis" for arguing GM crops are "inherently unsafe".
The lack of reassurance came as Owen Paterson, the Environment Secretary, said the Government wants to expand the growth of GM crops in Britain.
The Cabinet minister is currently battling to persuade officials in the European Union to lift current rules which only allow one type of GM maize to be grown in the UK.
He wants EU regulators to approve a long list of new GM crops, including herbicide-tolerant maize and sugar beet.
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In a speech today, Mr Paterson said GM crops are probably safer than conventional food and offer "wonderful opportunities to improve human health".
However, the Prime Minister's official spokesman sounded much more tentative, saying a decision on GM crops would be take on a "case by case basis" and "in line with the latest independent scientific advice".
He said the Prime Minister thinks there is a "role for GM crops" but declined to say eight times whether Mr Cameron would be prepared to eat them or considers them safe.
"As the Prime Minister was saying last week, it's time to have a good look again at the issue of GM food," he said. "In this area, all decisions, rightly, will be taken in line with the latest independent scientific advice."
He said the Government's "top priority" is "safeguarding health".
Later the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "I’m not going to go into the PM’s shopping basket,” he said. “The key point here is around ensuring we have a regulatory approach that is properly science-led.”
THE QUESTIONS IN FULL: DAVID CAMERON'S SPOKESMAN REFUSES TEN TIMES TO SAY GM FOOD IS SAFEAsked whether the Prime Minister is relaxed about eating GM food, his official spokesman said: "As the Prime Minister was saying last week, it's time to have a good look again at the issue of GM food. In this area, all decisions, rightly, will be taken in line with the latest independent scientific advice."
Asked whether the Prime Minister would serve it to his family, he said: "I know why the questions are asked this way. In this area, I've been very clear all decisions around that type of issue will be based on the latest independent scientific advice."
Asked why Downing Street will not tell us whether the Prime Minister would he eat GM food, he said: "The wider issue is around ensuring food safety. It's absolutely right every shopper, whoever, they are, can have confidence. That is why decisions in this area are based on the very latest scientific advice, so that every every shopper can have confidence."
Asked whether the Prime Minister shares the confidence of Owen Paterson this is safe to eat, he said: "We have very clear processes based on science to make sure food is safe. On the issue of GM food, the Prime Minister very clearly says it is important to look again and GM offers real opportunities."
Asked whether it fair to say the PM hasnt made up his mind about whether he would eat GM food, he said: "The point around is this that... there are clear regulatory structures so consumers whoever they are can have confidence in what they buy. The issue is around how we can open up the discussion around the potential benefits of GM to ensure the EU is not left behind in this area. As I say, it's very clear safeguarding health is always the top priority in these types of decisions and that's why they are always based on the latest scientific advice."
Asked why he will not reveal the Prime Minister's view on the safety of GM food when Owen Paterson says it is fine, he said: "I'm making the point that applications for trials with regard to GM food are rightly made on a case by case basis and should continue to be made in the future in line with the latest scientific and independent advice. The Secretary of State is saying there is no credible basis for the argument that is sometimes made that GM crops are inherently unsafe. But it's right to keep reassuring people, actually, that the decisions will continue to be made on the best scientific evidence."
Asked why the Prime Minister won't tell us if he eats it himself, he said: "Rather than going into the PM's shopping basket I've made the point that shoppers, whoever they are, can have confidence in the food that is on sale because we have these stringent regulatory structures."
Asked why the Prime Minister won't be absolutely unequivocal that GM food is safe, he said: "I've said the Government's view is that there's no credible basis for an argument that GM crops are inherently unsafe. It is also right that we look at GM products on a case by case basis."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/10132218/Downing-St-refuses-to-say-whether-David-Cameron-would-eat-GM-food.html