Lawyer says GM crops can be banned in Wales

The Welsh Assembly can stop GM crops from being grown in Wales, a top lawyer has confirmed. A key decision on commercial development of GM crops comes before the Assembly's Agriculture and Rural Development Committee next Wednesday, after a delay to consider the Assembly's legal powers.

Mike Fordham, one of the country's leading experts on judicial review, produced his Opinion for Friends of the Earth. Copies have been supplied to all Assembly members, including Agriculture Secretary Christine Gwyther, and First Secretary Rhodri Morgan. The Opinion states that the Assembly could refuse consent for a GM crop if it could not conclude with confidence that the crop would not harm human health or the environment; so long as it remains prepared to consider representations to the contrary.

At present, no GM crops are grown in Wales and the Assembly's powers have been under close scrutiny since Friends of the Earth Cymru launched its GM Free Welsh Environment campaign at last year's Royal Welsh Show.[1] On March 15th, the Agriculture Committee will meet again to decide whether to recommend that Aventis' GM T25 fodder maize should be given commercial approval for sale to farmers by being added to the National Seed List.

Commenting, Friends of the Earth's legal adviser, Peter Roderick, said:

"We have shown that the law supports the will of the majority of the Assembly and of the people of Wales. The Assembly has the power to deliver a Welsh environment free of GM trials. The time for debate is over, and the time for action has come."

Friends of the Earth Cymru's Head of Campaigns, Gordon James, said:

"A GM-Free Welsh environment would bring economic as well as environmental benefits to Wales. Welsh farmers and food growers would gain a market advantage by being clearly GM free. The Welsh public also want the Assembly to show that it can develop policies which are tailored to Welsh needs. Wales can lead the way. Lets hope the rest of the UK follows".

Notes

1. The objectives of the GM-Free Welsh Environment campaign are -

"to persuade the National Assembly of Wales to exercise its powers to ensure that it will not permit the release of GM crops into the Welsh environment unless it is satisfied that to do so would be safe for human health and the environment to promote Welsh organic and environmentally sensitive farming practices and food produce"

The objectives have received the support of the three leaders of the opposition parties in the Welsh Assembly, the majority of the Assembly Members, the Environment Secretary (Sue Essex), the Farmers Union of Wales, Christian Aid, Iceland Foods, Welsh cookery expert Gilli Davies, Rachels Dairy and many other organisation and individuals.

2. In paragraph 2 of the Opinion Counsel (Michael Fordham and Kate Gallafent) advise that adoption of a policy in the following terms would be lawful and could not be successfully challenged in the courts:

"The general policy of the Welsh Assembly in respect of its (transferred) functions under section 111 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 of determining applications for consent to release GMOs into the Welsh environment, is not to grant such consents unless the position is that sufficient information is available to the Assembly to enable it to conclude with confidence that the release is not capable of causing damage to the Welsh environment by harming the health of humans or other living organisms or interfering with their ecological systems. However, the Assembly will consider any representations as to whether it should give consent in a particular case, even where the position is otherwise."