Blair's 'U-turn' on GM food could be bad news for human genetics

The Blair government has apparently done a U-turn on genetically modified (GM) foods. In an article in the Independent on Sunday newspaper, Blair seemed to have adopted a more cautious attitude towards GM technology when he said that 'there is potential for harm... from GM foods and crops'.

Spokesmen for the government have since been at pains to explain that the government's policy on GM technology remains unchanged. But it seems clear that there has, at least, been a change of tone. It's rumoured that this new presentation of GM policy was a calculated manoeuvre. Britain is today hosting an OECD conference on GM technology and Blair wanted to avoid anti-GM protests which plagued the Seattle conference last year.

The nuts and bolts of the government's policy on GM technology may not have changed, but it is clear that the presentation of that policy has. The talk of the 'potential harm' of GM crops - even if the potential for good is also mentioned - is certainly different from the more dismissive attitude towards anti-GM activists adopted by Blair last year.

But even if government policy remains the same, Blair's new spin on the issue will have a damaging impact - on GM technology in particular and on science in general. In the short-term, the government has egg on its face and anti-GM voices are beside themselves with pleasure over Blair's apparent U-turn. British newspapers such as the Guardian, the Daily Mail and the Independent, which have long-since campaigned against GM foods, have been quick to take a self-congratulatory tone on the issue.

But besides the gloating from anti-GM activists and media commentators, there will be longer lasting effects of the new cautious tone. Genetically modified foods and human genetics are still largely seen as different issues in the public mind. But the continued attacks on genetics in agriculture and - more worryingly - the promotion of negative attitudes even towards research may start to have their impact on applications of genetics in human medicine.

Blair has already shown himself to be cautious about developments in human cloning research. His more downbeat view of GM technology seems to represent a trend which will only serve to undermine public confidence in science. Blair's new spin on GM foods may be useful for his government's reputation, but it could be disastrous for the future of genetics research.