Say no to GM contamination - NI

The Department of the Environment's (DOE) consultation on what measures are needed to control GM contamination in Northern Ireland has now ended.

Many people objected to their proposals to allow routine, unlabelled, GM contamination of our food and farming.

And now a new legal opinion (PDF†) from leading European Law experts says that DEFRA's proposals for England - on which the DOE's are based - are not compliant with EU law in seven important areas.

Although the consultation has closed, you can still help by asking your MP to help protect our right to choose.

We believe that every MP should know about these legal findings because the DOE's proposals would lead to routine, unlawful GM contamination.

Please ask your MP to write to the DOE demanding that they don't go ahead with these weak rules.

It's a three step process:

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I am writing as one of your constituents to ask you to help protect our right to choose GM free food and farming. I am concerned that if GM crops are grown commercially in Northern Ireland, the rules the Department of the Environment (DOE) has proposed won't do this.

A new legal opinion says that DEFRA's proposals for England are legally flawed, on which the DOE's proposals are based.

The DOE has outlined its proposals for the rules needed to control GM contamination if and when GM crops are grown in Northern Ireland.  The period of public consultation for this document closed on 30 April 2007. If agreed, these 'coexistence' proposals will result in routine, unlabelled, GM contamination. 
The new legal opinion from leading European Law experts says the DEFRA proposals are not compliant with EU law in seven areas. A summary of the opinion can be found here: www.foe.co.uk/resource/consultation_responses/coexistence_legal_summary.pdf
The DOE is also planning 'coexistence' and liability measures using a combination of voluntary codes of practice and secondary legislation. This means that Parliament will not have the opportunity to scrutinise these controversial proposals. It would if the measures were being introduced under primary legislation.

Please would you write to the Minister for the Environment, Arlene Foster.  Please ask how she will ensure that the final 'coexistence' regulations comply with EU law. This is essential to protect the choice for GM-free food, feed and seeds, and to ensure that the environment and health are safeguarded.

I look forward to hearing from you.

* Some MPs do not have an email address and/or fax number. Only contact methods that are available will be shown.

†To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com.

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