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DON'T BE AFRAID OF AVENTIS, CHRISTINE! Decide for the interest of Wales not Big Business

Friends of the Earth Cymru today urged the Welsh Agriculture Secretary, Christine Gwyther and her colleagues on the National Assembly for Wales' Agriculture Committee "not to bottle out" of refusing Aventis' application for a licence to market its GM fodder maize. A refusal by the Assembly would effectively prevent a licence being granted in the UK as a whole [1].

The application will be considered at a meeting of the Agriculture & Rural Development Committee tomorrow morning.

The application is being considered, even though there is no GM animal feed safety legislation, no evidence has been presented of the effects on cattle, and the farm-scale trials intended to assess environmental implications from growing GM crops, including this variety, are far from finished.

Raoul Bhambral, GM Campaigner for Friends of the Earth Cymru said:

"Christine has expressed her support for a GM Free Welsh environment, and this is her opportunity to put her words into action. We understand that she and the Committee need to decide cautiously. But we hope that caution will be exercised confidently in favour of health, the environment and Welsh farmers, and not fearfully in the face of the prospect of a legal challenge from Aventis."

"We have provided the Assembly with the legal information they need to turn down the application. I sincerely hope they do just that, for the sake of farmers in Wales. There is no market advantage in growing GM, nobody wants it and nobody will trust it's safe until the Government's own trials are over."

"The Prime Minister himself has acknowledged the potential for harm to human health and the environment. The Assembly must not allow GM seeds onto the market while such potential harm exists."

Notes

[1] The decision is being made on Aventis' application to add its GM T25 maize onto the UK National List, in accordance with the Seeds (National Lists of Varieties) Regulations 1982. Seeds of agricultural varieties cannot be sold unless they have been added to the UK National List. No GM variety has yet been added to the UK National List - this would be the first. Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish and English Ministers must all agree before a variety is added.

[2] 4 page letter to Gwyther from FOE, detailing legal grounds for refusing the decision to list.