FSA Chair Jeff Rooker's letter to the Soil Association and others

Dear Peter,

Thank you for your letter of 7 June, signed by yourself and representatives of four other organisations.

Firstly, to set the record straight, neither I nor the Agency believe that the British public are 'anti-science'.

It is, however, my personal view that there remains an anti-science and technology culture in the media and public life, which permeates our education system and into the schools. I acknowledge the efforts of many people to try to change that situation (Hansard, vol 706, col 169, 8 December 2008).

It is a basic principle of this Agency that our work is founded on evidence, including the best available science. Science is indeed the cornerstone of our work on food safety. But the Agency’s statutory remit extends beyond food safety to include other consumer interests in relation to food, and I can confirm that this is an important and intentional choice of words since I led the Bill establishing the Agency through Parliament.

While natural science underpins our food safety assessments, other factors including social and economic factors are also very relevant. The social sciences are particularly important to our work and are definitely a key part of the picture when we are considering issues in relation to GM food. This is demonstrated by the fact that the Agency has established a specialist social science unit that works alongside our policy teams, and a Scientific Advisory Committee focusing on the social sciences, both of which help us to develop the evidence base. This includes an understanding of the role of food in society as well as exploring the range of factors that are important in understanding people’s views about food.

Turning to the GM dialogue, as you know, it was the last Government that requested the FSA undertake this work in 2009. As I informed the Steering Group, the briefing for new Ministers referred to the GM dialogue and that in due course new Ministers would be asked to confirm if they wished the FSA to continue with the work. The matter is now with new Ministers for their decision. We look forward to their conclusions.

You also refer in your letter to last year’s report on GM food and feed.

The Agency was absolutely even-handed in its dealings with stakeholders – from all viewpoints. The draft report that the biotech industry commented on was the same report that the Soil Association and other stakeholders saw, at the same time, in November 2008. By comparing that draft report against the final, published version, you will see that a great many changes were made to the draft and that these changes reflect comments made by the whole range of stakeholders.

I hope this letter clarifies the facts of the situation. We are also making this response public as we welcome the opportunity to openly state the facts of this situation.

Yours,

Jeff

The letter sent to Jeff Rooker on 7 June 2010 can be found on the Soil Association website via the link below.