Chamber and committees

GM technology is regulated at EU level where all GM applications submitted for approval are scientifically assessed before they can be approved. The European Commission recognise that there are additional factors which can have an impact on decisions to cultivate GM crops. That is why the Commission proposed the amendments to the GM Directive which now allow countries to restrict or ban the cultivation of EU approved GM crops on their territories. The Scottish Government takes a precautionary approach to GM. It also takes into account the wider context including the preventative and democratic principles. We recognise that growing GM crops could threaten the brand that underpins Scotland's reputation for producing high quality and natural foods and damage Scotland's image as a land of food and drink. That is why, in line with our longstanding, I recently announced that we planned to make use of the new EU rules and opt-out of growing the one GM crop that is currently approved by the EU and six others in the pipeline for approval.