Don't get lost in the GM Maize! - FOE Cymru urges farmers to boycott GM Trials

Friends of the Earth (FOE) Cymru has urged farmers in Wales to boycott the UK Governments Farm Scale Evaluations of genetically modified (GM) maize. The group says that the trials have been badly planned, resisted by local people and rejected by the National Assembly for Wales. An announcement of test sites for the maize is expected in mid March.

The group expressed its delight that Wales was excluded from an announcement of a range of Farm Scale Trials for genetically modified beet and oilseed rape announced on 31 January. These crops will be tested in England and Scotland.

The environmentalists claim that Wales has escaped these trials because of the National Assembly policy, written by FOE Cymru, to resist planting of GM crops in Wales. Permission from the Assembly would be required before the beet or rape could be sown because the seeds do not have marketing consent in Europe.

The genetically modified Maize variety ChardonLL does have a marketing consent in Europe and hence Assembly permission is not required before the crop is planted. ChardonLL has been grown twice in trials in Flintshire in 2000 and 2001, causing uproar in the National Assembly and local community.

Julian Rosser, FOE Cymru Head of Campaigns commented:

"It was great news that we will have no beet or oilseed rape trials in Wales for the third year running. It shows that the strong position taken by the Assembly, pushed for by FOE Cymru, is helping to protect the Welsh environment and Welsh farmers.

We are now concerned that there will be further efforts to plant GM Maize - as has happened for the past two years in Flintshire.

We urge all farmers in Wales to boycott these risky experiments which are introducing poorly understood GM crops to the Welsh environment."

The group also called on Assembly Agriculture and Environment Ministers to take further action if the crops were planted in Wales. Last year the Ministers acted to introduce a legally binding separation distance between the GM maize and organic crops.

Julian Rosser continued:

"This year, if GM maize is planted in Wales, we believe that the Assembly Government should at least increase the legal separation distance between GM and organic crops. Carwyn Jones and Sue Essex should also explore legal avenues for stopping these crops being planted at all."