The Government says that GM crops can co-exist with conventional and organic ones. But, because pollen travels far and wide, it is essential to impose sufficient separation distances and other control measures between GM crops and others - as well as wild plants - to ensure cross-contamination is kept as close to zero as possible. Given the widespread opposition to GM, you might expect our Government to ensure strict guidelines are put in place. On the contrary, they intend to allow contamination. By twisting current labelling guidelines, they are recommending that all food may contain almost 1% GM without alerting consumers to the fact.
Evidence shows that oilseed rape can cross-pollinate at a distance of up to 26km, and routinely occurs at over 56m. Yet the Government's proposed separation distance between GM and non-GM oilseed rape crops is just 35m, with no separation distances at all for beet and potato. We are told that imminent GM potato trials are risk free, but despite similar assurances, trialled GM rice in the US has already led to contamination of rice found on our supermarket shelves.
We were told that GM would help feed the developing world, but GM soya in South America proved to be more susceptible to drought, and GM cotton in India had lower than usual yields. GM is a quick fix, not a sustainable solution. The companies behind it have spent decades investing in it, and need to see a return - but that should not come at the expense of ordinary people's lives. The Government is telling us that GM is not a health risk, but the European Commission says 'there is simply no way of ascertaining whether the introduction of GM products has had any other effect on human health'.
A report, drafted for Friends of the Earth by leading European law experts, found the Government's proposals to be 'fundamentally flawed', failing to conform with European law on at least seven counts. The DEFRA proposal to accept nearly one percent contamination of conventional and organic crops rather than aim to avoid contamination altogether is 'a flawed interpretation of European law'. What's more, the Government's intention to have no public register of GM crops means that GM farmers would be able to grow crops secretly. Allotments, gardens and wildlife centres could be at risk of contamination without knowing because neighbouring farmers will be under no obligation to tell anyone they are growing GM crops.
The proposed legislation has gone past the public consultation phase, but there is still time to make your opinion count. Write to your MP asking them to put pressure on Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment, to keep our food and farming GM free. |
