GM-free food could be "impossible"28 April 2003
The question of whether GM and non-GM crops can "co-exist" moved up the political agenda today. A report to Government from GM advisors the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission (AEBC), obtained by Friends of the Earth, reveals that if GM crops are commercially grown in the UK an internal report it would be "difficult and in some places impossible to guarantee" that any UK food is GM-free. The AEBC's working group on coexistence is due to hold a meeting of stakeholders.
The UK Government is expected to make a decision on the future commercialisation of GM crops within the next 12 months. The European Commission has also held a stakeholder meeting to discuss coexistence. Commission proposals on GM contamination of seeds have stalled as coexistence has emerged as a major issue in the EU.
At present, major food companies and retailers require conventional crops used as food ingredients to contain no more than 0.1 per cent of GM materials, if they are to be labelled as meeting consumer demand for GM-free food. But the AEBC predicts that this permitted threshold will be exceeded if GM crops are commercially grown. Organic crops must not contain any detectable GM traits.
UK-produced conventional oilseed rape is an important source of vegetable oil for food manufacturers producing food free of GM ingredients. And organic crops of maize and oilseed rape are set to expand in line with the Government's Organic Action Plan, produced last year, which required more organic food to be grown in the UK.
"The AEBC has hit the nail on the head," said Friends of the Earth's GM Campaigner, Pete Riley. "If GM crops are given the commercial green light it will be a disaster for the majority of people that want to eat GM-free food. The European Commission is trying to pass the issue of coexistence and GM contamination to member states. The Government must wake up to the threat these products pose to farming, food and the environment. Tony Blair and Margaret Beckett must not allow GM to be commercially grown in the UK."
Last year Friends of the Earth launched its GM-Free Britain campaign to persuade local authorities to take steps to go GM-free. Councils are being asked to pledge not to use GM food in schools, prevent tenant farmers from growing GM crops and make a formal submission to the Government and the European Commission to stop GM crops being grown in their area. A growing number of councils have already taken action. Cornwall County Council, South Gloucestershire Council, South Hams District Council and Norton Radstock and Bridport Town Councils have already voted to become GM-free areas, creating a GM-free band in the south-west of England. Others are expected to follow suit, see http://www.gmfreebritain.org/.
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