Shropshire became the latest county council to vote to go GM-free. The move, on the last day of the official GM public debate, was warmly welcomed by Friends of the Earth, who launched its GM-free Britain campaign last year.
Support was overwhelming with the council voting 35-2 for a GM-free Shropshire. Measures voted through include applying to prevent GM crops from being grown in Shropshire using a European law, and steps to prevent GM crops on council-controlled land. Shropshire County Council had carried out its own survey to gather the views of people living in the area which found that a massive 94% were against commercially growing GM crops. It had also consulted with tenant farmers to help inform its decision. The Government will not confirm exactly how the outcome of the public debate, due to report in September, will feed in to the decision on whether to grow GM crops in the UK.
"This is fantastic news," said Friends of the Earth's GM Campaigner, Clare Oxborrow. "Shropshire council has made a huge effort to listen to people in its area and has responded to their concerns by voting to go GM-free. As the official GM public debate ends, this move sends a clear message to the Government that people in Shropshire don't want their food, farming and environment threatened by GM pollution. The Government must now promise to listen to the outcome of the public debate and refuse to allow GM crops to be commercially grown in the UK"
Shropshire joins a number of local councils calling for GM-free areas.
The Government is expected to decide whether or not to allow GM crops
to be commercially grown in the UK later this year.
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