Before it can be released into the environment, any GM organism (plant, microbe or animal) has to pass through a tough regulatory process.

ACRE (the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment) is an independent body that advises Government on this process. ACRE will approve a release only if it is satisfied that no damage will occur. Many believe that GM crops do not raise new legal liability principles that are not already covered in conventional agriculture.

The questions of coexistence (how different forms of agricultural practice can be carried on in the same locality as required by the EU) possible liability for damage are matters currently under discussion throughout the European Union, including the EU. They arise largely because the organic sector generally wishes (for its own reasons) absolutely to avoid any use of GM materials and would like to insist that not a trace of it, not a pollen grain, enters their domains; that is a decision of the organic sector itself, it is not a legal requirement. Just as everybody else, organic food would have to be labelled if it contained more than 0.9% GM content.

The consequential issues are complex. For instance:

• should organic farmers be able to sue if their products are found to contain GM material? Would they know where it came from? Who would pay for the testing?

• should GM farmers be able to sue organic farmers for losses resulting from their not being able to conduct their business?

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