Archived press release

Carry on planting!

10 September 1999

AgrEvo has announced that it is to continue with its farm-scale trials of winter oilseed rape,despite the fact that the High Court has granted Friends of the Earth permission to bring a judicial review of the Government's decision to give the go-ahead for the crop. Meanwhile,Environment Minister Michael Meacher has complained about “intimidation” of farmers after Nottinghamshire farmer David Rose decided not to take part in the testing programme.AgrEvo is to announce a new trial site in Lincolnshire tomorrow, bringing the number of farm-scale trials back up to four.

Commenting, FOE Executive Director Charles Secrett said:
"We are bitterly disappointed with this decision. At present, there may be no legal barrier to prevent planting, but AgrEvo has decided to go ahead despite the High Court's view that these trials are arguably unlawful. Public money will be spent on these trials. Two weeks ago, the Government told the Court that the planting date 'had been set back due to the issue of these proceedings as, should the Court decide that the...variation...is unlawful, any seedlings already planted may have to be destroyed'.The Government has obviously now changed its mind, and decided to risk both wasting public money and damaging the environment.

Worse still, Mr Meacher is quite wrongly pretending that Mr David Rose decided not to proceed with his trial because of intimidation, and threatening that the trials programme may in future be conducted in secret. The public will not tolerate any attempt to force GM food on to the market after a sham testing programme conducted in private."

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. FOE has been granted leave for a judicial review of the Government's decision to allow planting of winter oilseed rape with a new consent being required under the EU Deliberate Release Directive. This decision allowed AgrEvo to change the GM crop being tested (from spring to winter oilseed rape) without submitting a new application, quadruple the amount of land covered by farm-scale trials, to an area the size of Southampton (from 1,250 ha to 5,000 ha), and grow the crop for 12 months rather than 6.

The decision was made by officials at the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions; it is not even clear if any Government minister was ever consulted. The decision removed any chance of AgrEvo's application being put to the Government's reformed ACRE committee (Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment),which was set up to ensure greater scrutiny of GM development.

2. Nottinghamshire farmer David Rose was due to grow winter oilseed rape on behalf of GM company AgrEvo, but has pulled out of the 10 hectare trial following meetings with FOE and consultations with local people.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust