GM Campaign Victory!

9 May 2004

On 31 March 2004 , Biotechnology giant Bayer CropScience announced that it was abandoning its attempts to grow the genetically modified (GM) maize variety ChardonLL in the UK .

GM Free Rally, London, October 2003

This followed a four year campaign by Friends of the Earth Cymru, and many others, to persuade the Government to reject the crop.

In March 2003, Friends of the Earth Cymru submitted a legal opinion to the National Assembly arguing that ChardonLL could not be added to the UK National Seed List because it had not been shown that "all appropriate measures" had been taken "to protect human health and the environment". At the beginning of March 2004, we presented a further legal briefing to Assembly Members.

Although the UK Government gave approval for the variety on 9 March, its addition to the List required consent of the Welsh Assembly. Assembly Environment Minister Carwyn Jones promised Assembly Members that he would not even consider this until tougher measures to protect conventional and organic farmers were in place.

In an Assembly debate on 24 March 2004, not one Assembly Member spoke in favour of GM commercialisation.

The withdrawal of ChardonLL means that GM crops are unlikely to be grown commercially in the UK until 2008 at the earliest.

Friends of the Earth Cymru and GM Free Cymru outside the Welsh Assembly, October 2003

This would not have happened if it were not for the hundreds of emails, letters and calls that Assembly Members (AMs) had received from people all across Wales . These were generated from actions by local Friends of the Earth groups and others, such as GM Free Cymru, who have campaigned so tirelessly against GM crops for years.

I made a list of the amount of correspondence that I had received on this in the last few days - it was running into the hundreds, and I am sure that that is the case for every Assembly Member.

Helen Mary Jones, Plaid Cymru AM during the Assembly debate on 24 March 2004

Blaenau Gwent is not the centre of knowledge on GM crops, but I receive a great number of representations against GM crops being planted in Wales.

Peter Law, Labour AM during an Assembly debate on 24 February 2004

Resource

GM free Welsh Local Authorities

GM free Welsh environment