THE long-term future of food production in West Devon will suffer if the borough is not declared a GM-free zone, warned a borough councillor this week.

Cllr Nicholas Waterhouse called for the borough to be safeguarded from GM crops before West Devon products ended up being left on supermarket shelves because of fears over modified foods.

But the bid to have West Devon declared a genetically-modified-crop-free zone was dismissed by borough councillors.

The motion was introduced by Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Waterhouse, member for Burrator, at Tuesday?s meeting of the full council.

Liberal Democrat councillors warned that GM crops could spread into normal crops and posed a dangerous threat to West Devon?s environment and agriculture.

Cllr Waterhouse?s motion said GM material could be spread by seed and pollen to contaminate normal crops, and the borough should therefore lobby the Government to have the area established as a GM-free area.

Cllr Waterhouse said: ?This debate is not about whether it is safe to eat GM foods or not. What this is about is the raising of GM crops in West Devon.?

He said if GM crops were introduced into the borough, it would be impossible to prevent the cross-contamination with normal crops or the entry of modified material into the wildlife or ultimately the human food chain.

Cllr Waterhouse said the introduction of GM crops was capable of ?inflicting severe damage? on the borough?s agricultural and horticultural output. He said beekeepers and organic farmers would be among those in West Devon who would be particularly affected by the growing of GM crops in the borough.

Cllr Waterhouse said, rightly or wrongly, the British public was very sceptical about GM foods.

?A very large proportion of the British public doesn?t want to buy items which have a GM label. This is a very serious threat to the long-term future of West Devon?s economy,? he said.

As little as one percent in a product meant that it had to be labelled ?Contains genetically modified organisms? ? and the public aversion to ?Frankenstein foods? would make these products unsaleable said Cllr Waterhouse.

He said the figure of one percent was set to be reduced as soon as scientists devised a test which would identify it at lower levels still.

Cllr Waterhouse said: ?It is not about science, it is about supermarkets. The public will leave GM-labelled products on the shelves. If you want the products of West Devon left on the shelf, then by all means, let it happen.?

Cllr Dick Eberlie was not in favour of the motion because he felt the council should not preempt the results of GM crops trials taking place across the country.

?If our watchword is to give farmers as much help as we can, we should hesitate before going down this route,? he said.

?We must not cut out the possibility of learning more about GM crops,? added Cllr Eberlie. He proposed an amendment that the council hold an informal discussion with expert advice to become more informed on the subject.

Cllr Roger Mathew said ?alarmist? views on GM foods had created a climate of ?widespread panic? about the issue among the public. He believed there was an ?awful lot of nonsense? talked about GM food.

However, he welcomed the idea of an informal meeting where a ?sensible discussion? could take place before the council reached a view on the matter.

A genetically modified crop cannot be introduced into an area without approval by the European Union.

The EU directive makes specific provision for geographical restrictions to be put in place where permission is given.

Cllr Waterhouse had asked for West Devon to be excluded from consent in the event of the introduction of any genetically modified crops, making the borough a GM-free area.

Cllr Eberlie?s amendment to hold an informal meeting for councillors to hear both sides of the argument was passed.

Tavistock Town Council has previously discussed the idea of making the town a GM-free zone.

Councillors decided to take no further action when the Tavistock Genetics Group asked them to pass a draft resolution ? proposed by Friends of the Earth ? two months ago.