Note to Acre on the Farm Scale Evaluations by the Gm Science Review Panel

In Section 6.5 of the First Report of the Science Review, the Panel drew attention to a lack of detailed knowledge of the potential impacts on biodiversity following the introduction of GM herbicide tolerant (GMHT) crops. Studies that systematically compared the effects of GMHT and conventional management regimes were available, but usually confined to small-scale studies at research stations or observations in commercial fields. At least five studies had shown that using GMHT crops generally increased the efficiency and reliability of weed control in maize, beet, and oilseed rape (Read & Bush 1998, Strandberg & Pederson 2002, Wevers 1998, Read & Ball 1999a, Read & Ball 1999b). Only one commentary (Firbank & Forcella 2000) suggested that weed control was sometimes less efficient than conventional methods when GMHT varieties were used. The Panel also raised the possibility that the use of GMHT cropping systems could have an impact on spray damage to field boundary and hedgerow biodiversity.