Give Wales a GM-Free envrionment before it's too late

Friends of the Earth (FOE) Cymru is calling on the National Assembly for Wales to urgently declare Wales a GM-Free Environment so that it can scrutinise any plans to grow GM crops in Wales for safety. This follows a Government error [1] in planning to grow a GM crop on Welsh soil without consulting the Assembly. FOE Cymru has condemned the Government-backed research programme of farm scale trials as a ˜complete farce', and urge the Assembly to take control of the situation.

A GM-Free Welsh Environment policy would ensure that the Assembly would not permit any GM trial crops to be released in Wales unless it was convinced that to do so would be safe for the environment and human health. FOE Cymru says that such a policy is essential if the Assembly is to comply with its vision for a sustainable agricultural system in Wales.

The Assembly has been presented with independent legal advice that sets out the basis for declaring a GM-Free Welsh Environment [2]. FOE Cymru is urging the Assembly to adopt the advice as Assembly policy before any further Westminster errors threaten agriculture in Wales.

Raoul Bhambral, GM Campaigner for FOE Cymru said:

" The Assembly has a vision for agriculture in Wales and GM crops should not be a part of it unless we can be certain they are safe. Unfortunately, even though the Government assures us it is using ‘sound science', its own research programme of GM trials has very serious flaws. All the trials are short-term and are conducted with inadequate protection for the environment. Many of them are looking at how well the crops grow, not at their environmental impact.

" The lack of ˜sound science' goes beyond the crops themselves. The trials are not monitoring effects on earthworms and soil micro-organisms even though we know that the two main herbicides to be used with GM crops are very harmful to these creatures [3]. What would happen if we started growing these crops, and using the herbicides on a commercial scale? A policy for a GM-Free Environment would ensure that the Assembly is satisfied of the safety of future trials before any go ahead in Wales. This can only happen with real research, not these unscientific, unsafe trials.

" Wales is now free of GM crops. As soon as we raised the alarm over the Welsh GM site the farmer pulled out of the trial. He has joined a growing number of farmers who have similarly abandoned GM crops. This is because they are so badly organised that local communities are vigorously opposing the trials. "

Out of the 57 trials announced so far across the UK, 9 have been scrapped due to intense local opposition. Local communities are enraged that they are not being consulted about the trial sites. Neither have the livelihoods of organic farmers or beekeepers in the area been considered, as their produce may be contaminated by GM pollen.

Raoul Bhambral went on to say:

" The farm scale trials have been badly designed, with no attempt to protect surrounding farms from contamination. The Government's handling of this issue is appalling, with inaccurate information on its website and badly organised public meetings which were supposed to allay the public's fears. We also know that some of the results from certain trials have been fiddled with to make the GM crop look better.

" We can have no confidence in the trials as they are. They are not likely to produce meaningful results, but are posing threats to the environment whilst they are in the fields. This is why the Assembly needs to be satisfied that any trials in Wales do not pose such risks. "

Notes

1 The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) had mistakenly sited a GM crop trial in Wales after having assured the Assembly that all sites were in England. The site was described as being in Cheshire, but was actually over the Welsh border in Flintshire. FOE Cymru alerted the Assembly Agriculture Secretary's office after pinpointing the site location with information on DETR's website.

2 The legal opinion, prepared by Mike Fordham and Kate Gallafent, and commissioned by FOE Cymru was presented to the Assembly on the 9th of March 2000. Counsel advised that the Assembly could lawfully adopt this policy without being successfully challenged in Court :

" The general policy of the Welsh Assembly ... is not to grant such consents [experimental releases of GMOs] unless ... 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. "

3 Glyphosate is manufactured by Monsanto to be used with its RoundUp Ready herbicide-resistant GM crops. It is toxic to earthworms, spiders, lacewings, ladybirds, and beneficial fungi (mycorrhizal fungi) and bacteria (nitrogen-fixing bacteria). Reference : Sue Everett, British Wildlife, Volume 11, Number 4, April 2000 - page 295.

Glufosinate is manufactured by Aventis (formerly AgrEvo) to be used with its Liberty Link herbicide-resistant GM crops. It is toxic to beneficial soil micro-organisms as well as aquatic animals including freshwater fish. Reference : Pesticides News, issue no. 42, December 1998, the journal of the Pesticides Trust.