Archived press release

Campaign launched for new EU rules on gm-free areas

22 April 2004

Wiltshire County Council has become the latest local authority in Britain to go GM free. All six county councils in the South West region have now passed policies opposing GM crops [1]. The news coincides with a Friends of the Earth campaign, launched today in Brussels, calling for new EU rules to allow local and regional authorities to ban GM crops from their areas. GM-free campaigns are now running in areas and regions in 16 current, and soon-to-be, EU countries [see fact sheet below].

Earlier this week Wiltshire confirmed that it had introduced policies to ensure that all council controlled catering is GM free and that new tenant farm agreements ban the growing of GM crops [2]. Over 14 million people across the UK now live in areas that have introduced policies rejecting GM food and crops.

The European Commission is already under pressure to allow regions and authorities to establish GM-free areas if GM crops are ever allowed to be commercially grown in Europe [3]. In January the Commission admitted that it would "be difficult to reject these attempts at establishing GM-free zones, which are driven by strong public local concern and economic considerations (such as protection of local traditional agriculture)" [4].

Friends of the Earth Europe has also launched a new website - www.gmofree-europe.org - to highlight the different GM-free initiatives in the various European regions representing tens of millions of people. Actions range from regions introducing local laws to ban cultivation, to public authorities lobbying both Europe and national Governments for legal protection.

Friends of the Earth's GM campaigner Clare Oxborrow said:

"Local and regional authorities across the UK and Europe are increasingly taking steps to keep their food, farming and environment free from GM pollution. The EU must take notice, and introduce new European legislation to enable these areas to stay GM-free if Europe ever makes the mistake of allowing GM crops be commercially grown."

GM Free South West Campaign Co-ordinator, Keith Hatch, added;

"This is great news for Wiltshire, the South West and the UK as a whole. Every county in the region has now taken steps to be GM Free, sending a very strong message to the government that the people of the South West want nothing to do with GM crops and the damage to the local economy and environment that they will undoubtedly cause."

Jean Saunders, of Wiltshire Friends of the Earth, said;

"Although we didn't know it, for the last eighteen months we have been pushing against an open door. We are delighted that Wiltshire County Council has taken positive action to reflect the concerns of the majority of local people who do not want to eat GM food and do not want GM crops contaminating the countryside."

Notes

1. www.gmfreebritain.com

2. In a separate move the South West Regional Assembly is to commission a report through its Regional Futures Group to look at the issue of GM crops. The group, which meet on the 15th April, will also look at the possibility of the region joining with other regions across Europe, including Wales and the Highlands, who wants the right to ban GM crops in their areas.

3. Campaigners are calling for EU rules to allow regions and local areas to blanket ban GM crops in their areas. Under current law (Article 19 of Directive 2001/18/EC), local authorities can apply, on a crop by crop basis, to get GM crops excluded from their geographical areas. To date 28 local authorities have committed to doing this.

4. Commission press release, 28 January 2004, GMOs: Commission takes stock of progress

FACT SHEET April 2004

GM-FREE EUROPE

The number of regions in the EU that want to ban the growing of GM crops is continuously growing. Initiatives have started in at least 22 European countries. This is summary of some of the most visible initiatives. For more information please go to www.gmofree-europe.org

Austria

Eight out of the nine Austrian provinces have now indicated that they want to go GMO-free. Over 100 municipalities have also signed a GMO-free resolution. The region of Upper Austria has passed a law making it a GMO-free zone. Five other provincial parliaments (Salzburg, Tirol, Burgenland, Steirmark and Lower Austria) have also demanded their governments to declare their province GMO-free.

Belgium

39 communities in the Flemish and 81 communities in the French speaking part of Belgium have declared themselves GMO-free.

France

In France more than one thousand majors have issued declarations of GMO-free status of their municipality. At a regional level, three regions have issued GM-free: Alpes de Haute Provence, Aquitaine and Limousin.

Greece

Currently 40 out of the 54 Greek prefectures have voted to declare their area GMO-free and nine more are in the process of doing so. The prefecture of Rhodope and the Drama Kavala - Xanthi County have joined the European Network of GM-Free regions.

Italy

More than 500 cities in Italy have taken a position against the use of GMOs in agriculture. The combined area of those communities that have already signed a resolution against GMOs and those that recently have indicated to ban GMOs means that nearly 80% of Italy's territory is declared GMO-free.

Slovenia

The Bio-region ALPE ADRIA, covers the whole area of Slovenia, the Austrian provinces of Carinthia and Styria and the Italian provinces of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto. In June 2003, a joint GMO-free statement was signed by the presidents of organic farmers associations from these five Alpine regions.

UK

So far 44 areas (this includes:12 County councils, 9 Unitary authorities, 2 Metropolitan districts, 1 London Borough, 13 District councils, 2 National Parks Authorities, 5 Town/Parish councils) in England and 35 councils in

Wales have approved a GMO-free resolution, bringing the total UK population living in areas with a GMO-free policy to over 14 million.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust