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CAMPAIGN IS GATHERING PACE
09:00 - 07 January 2003
Friends of the Earth activist Keith Hatch explains why the
Westcountry
will be a key battleground in the fight to create a GM-free
zone
Last October Friends of the Earth launched its GM-Free Britain
campaign;
its aim is to enable the whole of Britain to become free from the
threat
of genetic pollution. In the months since, the campaign has been
gaining
momentum.
The emphasis is very much on local action carried
out by local people
and groups.
The campaign aims to link together
diverse groups with a concern for our
environment and a desire to protect it.
Across Britain more than 110
groups have already signed up.
Over the
coming months the issue of GM crops will be climbing up the
political agenda.
At the moment the Government is preparing for its "GM
Public Debate". This
was expected to begin this month - but as yet no
dates have been set and one
unnamed Minister has hinted that the debate
is little more than a Government
PR exercise and that the outcome will
be "pro-GM".
This campaign is
for a GM-free Britain, but to get there we need a
GM-free Cornwall, a GM-free
Devon and a GM-free Somerset.
The South West is crucial to the
campaign.
The first commercially grown crop will be Chardon LL, a T25
maize which
has been genetically modified to be tolerant to the
herbicide
glufosinate.
Yet despite the many concerns raised about the
safety and value of
Chardon LL from objectors at public meetings into its
approval, and from
an inter-departmental group on novel feed developments, it
may still be
given the go-ahead. This type of fodder maize will be used for
cattle
and, as everyone around here knows, the dairy industry is one of
the
main forms of agriculture in the region.
We know that the South
West is home to high quality local food and a
large number of organic
producers. Organic producers face an uncertain
time - Soil Association
certification could possibly be lost if GM crops
are grown within six miles
of them. However, not only organic producers
are affected - seed purity for
all types of farmers and growers will be
impossible to maintain if GM crops
are grown on a commercial scale.
This all sounds depressing, but there is
something we can do about it.
Recent EU legislation allows for member states
to ask the European
Commission to offer legal protection for a "geographical
area" such as a
county, district or parish. Therefore your local council will
be well
within its rights to ask the Environment Secretary that no GM
crops
should be approved for planting within its boundaries.
Parts of
Austria, Germany, France and the whole of Wales have declared
themselves
GM-free, so there is no reason why Cornwall, Devon and
Somerset shouldn't
join this list.
The next few months will be crucial; it really is a case
of now or
never. If the crops are planted they will enter into our
environment and
stay there - the genie can't be returned to the bottle.
However, with
local people working together we can ensure a GM-free Britain
for us and
our children.
For more information on the GM Free Britain
Campaign contact Friends of
the Earth on 020 7490 1555 or the website
www.gmfreebritain.com
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WEST'S FIGHT TO BE GM-FREE
09:00 - 07 January 2003
The opening steps to make the Westcountry Britain's first
genetically
modified-free zone are to be taken over the next few
weeks.
Councillors in Devon are considering asking the Government to
enforce a
new European Union directive which allows member states to set
aside
areas banning the future growing of GM crops.
If a planned
meeting of the council's scrutiny committee backs the move
on January 13,
councillors in neighbouring Cornwall and Somerset are
expected to follow suit
in calling on Environment Secretary Margaret
Beckett to protect their areas
from contamination.
Today Friends of the Earth campaigners are to brief
Devon county
councillors on the legislation, which allows councils to declare
their
territories GM-free, once approval is obtained from the
Government.
The move follows a Government report last month which
revealed GM crops
have contaminated conventional crops up to 200 yards away.
Keith Hatch,
Westcountry spokesman for FoE, said: "Friends of the Earth is
calling on
local councils to use of EU legislation on GM. If we manage to
make good
use of this directive, the Westcountry could lead the way in
becoming
the first area to obtain a GM-free status."
The comments were
welcomed by Devon county councillor Geoff Date, who
said: "The directive is
worth pursuing. Today I'll meet several members
of FoE to discuss the matter
in-depth. We also hope to get support from
Cornwall."
Cornwall county
councillor Howard Roberts said: "We can't impose on
farmers what to grow or
on consumers what to buy. However, we would
clearly wish to see our children
eat healthily."
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POLITICIANS URGED TO JOIN FIGHT TO STOP GM CROPS
09:00 - 07 January 2003
Westcountry environmentalists have urged politicians to take
active
steps in fighting "the dangers of genetic modification."
In
then light of a new Government study containing evidence of GM
contamination
in neighbouring organic fields, campaigners have called on
local authorities
to adopt a GM-free status for the region.
Westcountry members of the
Friends of the Earth are now to brief county
councillors on a European
regulation which could grant protection to
self-declared GM-free areas
against future releases of GM crops and
foods.
Since the directive
entered into force in the UK in 2002, no local
authority has introduced
GM-free zones. Leicestershire County Council,
however, operates a five-year
freeze on GM crops, which means that none
are grown on farms in the
county.
Devon County Council twice last year looked at the issue of GM
crops and
whether or not to try and ban them, but resolved that doing so
could
mislead the public as the local authority had no power to control
their
use.
But since the last meeting in July, Friends of the Earth
campaigners
have discovered the EU Directive 18/2001 which they believe will
give
local authorities the legal protection they need to block GM crops
from
being commercialised.
Richard Orrell, Westcountry FOE member and
a staunch campaigner against
genetical engineering, said: "Local authorities
will have to devote
increased resources to food monitoring and food safety,
such as
enforcement of labelling, monitoring of contamination with unapproved
GM
material and action in the event of contamination or the withdrawal
of
an approved GM food. We call on local authorities to address the
risks
of genetical engineering. "
Responding to the campaign initiated
by the environmental group,
Westcountry county councillors have now promised
to look into the matter
and consider the new directive.
Coun Geoff
Date, for Totnes rural, and a member of the council's
environment and economy
scrutiny committee, welcomed proposals to work
closely with the group. He
said: "Currently we are encouraging schools
and other establishments
connected to the authority to buy organic. We
know very little about GM and
it is advisable to take a cautious view,
urging people to prefer organic
produce which we know is safe."
He added: "The new directive suggested to
us by the Friends of the Earth
seems a possible solution. However, there is
still a lot of information
that we need to gather and
understand."
Devon Coun John Glanville and chairman of the scrutiny
committee argued
that the authority was already encouraging establishments
connected to
the body, such as schools to ensure that foodstuffs are labelled
as to
whether they contain GM-derived ingredients.
The council has
debated the issue of GM crops and organisms at a number
of meetings,
resolving through the Local Government Authority to press
the Government to
take steps to prevent the recurrence of seed stock
contamination by GM
seed.
Coun Date explained that only a joint initiative of Westcountry
councils
would succeed in keeping the area GM-free.
He said: "There
are many risks of contamination involved and therefore,
I believe, it is
important for us to link up with other county councils
to adopt a GM-free
status for the region."
In Cornwall, members of the county council
welcomed comments from their
counterparts in Devon, claiming the authority
was "open-minded" to
suggestions and ideas. Prince Charles, the Duke of
Cornwall, has also
been an outspoken opponent of GM crops and GM
foods.
Cornwall county coun Howard Roberts, portfolio holder of the
environment
committee, said: "We have been recently approached by members of
the
Friends of the Earth with whom we are talking about different aspects
of
GM crops. However, we believe that it would not be democratic to
impose
on farmers whether to grow or not GM crops. Nobody has come yet with
a
complete definition of GM and we don't know its full implications,
but
we would very much like to think that our children eat healthy
local
food produced to British standards." Meanwhile, Somerset County
Council
resolved to oppose the release of genetically modified organisms
and
seek the support of national organisations such as English Nature
and
the Local Government Association.
Also the council's Countryside
and Heritage Board decided to insert a
clause into all new tenancy agreement
for County Farms to prohibit the
growing of all genetically modified crops
and request existing tenants
not to grow genetically modified
crops."
The Government asserts that it is neither pro nor anti GM crops
and
recognises there are potential risks and benefits. It says that it
will
not approve GM crops releases if there is any serious doubt about
their
safety, but argues that consumers should be given a choice.
Last
October, when the EU directive came into force, Environment
Minister
Michael Meacher said: "The new directive clarifies and improves
the
existing EU regulatory framework under which decisions are taken
on
whether to allow, or to prevent, proposed releases of GM
organisms.
"The new regime provides an increased level of protection to
consumers
and the environment from any potential risks posed by these
organisms.
"It also takes large steps towards improving transparency and
public
involvement in decision making."
But despite the Government's
cautious view on the issue, Westcountry
farmers fear that the introduction of
the crops into the region may
affect the region's organic industry. Guy
Watson, a South Devon organic
farmer, claimed it was impossible for GM and
non-GM crops to co-exist.
He said: "There are good intellectual reasons
for questioning the safety
of GM crops. The commercial benefits to
agriculture and consumers are
insignificant."
According to a poll
conducted by FOE, 50 local authorities in England
have already demonstrated
their opposition to GM food and crops, calling
for a freeze on
commercialising GM crops for five years.
A number of councils have also
required catering, such as those
supplying schools to have a non-GM
policy.
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FARMERS SHOULD BE GIVEN OPTION
09:00 -
07 January 2003
Owen Yeatman, a Dorset farmer whose land
hosted government GM field
trials, says the cultivation of the crops could
bring benefits
As a trial site provider for the recent GM environmental
impact trials,
I would like to explain some of my thinking in being willing
to partake
in these trials.
My primary reason for being willing to
take part was to enable the trial
data to be collected and then reported
upon, so as to gain some
information as to the impact this technology could
have upon the flora
and fauna of the countryside surrounding these
crops.
The alleged benefits to the farmer were well known to me - easier
crop
management, reduced chemical usage, less energy used in the
crop
establishment process, so I was keen to see if these were really
there
to be had in the UK situation.
I am also very aware of the
Government's attitude to British farmers,
which is basically that subsidies
are going to end and farmers have to
compete with international
competitors.
So I was aware that if our competitors were using GM then we
should have
the option of using it also.
GM technology is already
being widely used by our international
competitors extensively, and the
products produced using this technology
are on the supermarket
shelves.
So, having taken part in the trials what now are my views on
the
subject?
I have certainly learnt a lot more about GM, and how far
and fast the
science is progressing.
I have also learnt that by and
large the general public are very
sceptical about the introduction of
GM.
We all share a healthy scepticism to all opinions and research -
in
today's world there is little information that is impartial, and
most
people have some form of vested interest.
The Government is in a
cleft stick about the subject - it is a strong
believer in free trade and its
benefits, so is keen to open the United
Kingdom market to International
competition - and under the GATT
(General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade)
rules would find it virtually
impossible to keep out imported foods using
legislation.
However, the public wants the choice as to whether to use GM
foods or
not.
Having been to lots of meetings organised to discuss GM,
it has become
apparent to me that by and large the requirements of the public
and the
wishes of the farmers are similar.
Both want good quality
traceable foods produced in a manner that is kind
to the environment and farm
animals.
However the supermarkets, which are between the producer and
consumer,
have their own reasons for keeping us from achieving this
objective.
GM technology may have benefits to farmers; however experience
shows
that any cost savings or benefits soon find their way out of
the
farmer's pocket and into another person's further up the food
chain.
So ultimately it will prove of little benefit to the farmer - but
to
avoid using GM, as with any other step forward in science, will be
a
difficult decision.
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HOW
DIRECTIVE WOULD OPERATE
09:00 - 07 January 2003
The European Directive on the deliberate release into the
environment
of genetically modified organisms was adopted in the EU in
February
2001.
The UK and other EU Member States were required to
transpose the new
regulation into national legislation by October 17 2002 and
the devolved
administrations are expected to introduce their own
respective
regulations shortly.
The new regime applies to applications
for commercial releases of GM
crops, and research trial releases. It will
provide a more robust
framework for taking safety-based decisions on whether
to allow, or to
prevent, the release of GM organisms in England.
Among
other things, the new regime introduces:
An explicit requirement for
environmental risk assessments to cover
indirect and long-term effects of GM
organisms;
Mandatory public consultation before decisions are taken on
applications
for consents to release GM organisms;
Mandatory labelling
for all GM crops released commercially in the EU.
They must also be traceable
throughout the production and supply chain;
Phasing out of antibiotic
resistance genes that may have adverse effects
on human health and the
environment;
Time limits on all commercial approvals - max. 10 years -
after which
consents must be reassessed.
Friends of the Earth
considers that GM-free areas can be provided with
legal protection under the
new rule. Article 19 of the directive
specifically mentions the protection
offered to "geographical areas".
The group suggests that local authorities
ask the Government to use this
provision to protect self-declared GM-free
areas against future releases
of GM crops and foods. Thanks to the EU
directive, countries like
Austria, Germany, France, as well as Wales were
declared GM-free.