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Archived press release

South gloucestershire votes to go gm-free

27 February 2003

South Gloucestershire Council voted to go GM-free late last night, becoming the largest local authority to call for GM-free status so far. The decision has been warmly welcomed by Friends of the Earth which launched a GM-free Britain Campaign [1] in October last year.

Councillors at the unitary authority voted following a long session in favour of a motion put forward by Coun Peter Tyzack (LibDem) [2] to declare South Gloucestershire a GM-free zone, to seek to ensure no GM crops are grown on council controlled land, and to strengthen their GM-free policy for all goods and services within their responsibility. They also voted to call on the Secretary of State to resist pressure to allow further development for the commercialisation of GM crops in this country.

The vote follows GM-free votes by North Radstock Town Council (Dec 2002) and South Hams District Council earlier this month. Devon County Council has stated its opposition to GM trials and Cornwall County Council is expected to consider a motion to go GM-free when it meets next week.

South Gloucestershire Friends of the Earth's GM campaigner Tony Harding said:

"This is a great decision for local people, because it confirms and strengthens the GM-free policy that the Council has had since 1999. It protects our freedom of choice NOT to eat GM food. It is good news for local organic farmers, beekeepers, and gardeners whose livelihoods will not be threatened by contamination from GM crops, and it is good news for the farming community as a whole, which will benefit from the Council's drive to promote local food and a self-sustaining local economy."

Friends of the Earth GM campaigner Clare Oxborrow said:

"Calls for a GM-free Britain are growing; local authorities up and down the country are looking at similar motions to the one passed in South Gloucestershire to protect their food, farming and wildlife from GM pollution. People throughout the country have made it clear that they do not want to eat GM food or have GM crops grown in their areas - it is time for the Government to listen."

Friends of the Earth launched its GM-free Britain campaign in October 2002 to persuade local authorities to take steps to become GM-free areas. Later this year the Government is expected to decide whether or not to allow GM crops to be commercially grown across the UK. If it does Friends of the Earth warns that it would lead to widespread GM contamination of our food, crops and environment, and would remove people's right to choose food free from GM content. GM food and crops are deeply unpopular. An NOP survey published in October showed that 57 per cent do not want GM crops to be commercially grown across the UK.

Notes

[1] For more information on Friends of the Earth's GM-Free Britain Campaign see: www.gmfreebritain.com

[2] The full text of the motion reads:

"This Council recognises:

• that genetic modification of plant crops is an evolving science,

• that there is continuing public and scientific debate and disquiet about the desirability of and the safety of genetically modified food, and

• that having accommodated one field trial that caused more concerns than it resolved, in particular raising doubts about the ability of the industry to conduct reliable tests of their creations without threatening the integrity of more legitimate agricultural activities, the Council declares that South Gloucestershire shall become a GM-free zone with immediate effect. This is in order to protect the health of local people, to protect the environment and to support and promote a viable food economy in an area where many farm holdings and private individuals are moving towards organic status.

To this end, the Council is of the view that:

• we should seek to ensure that no GM crops are grown on any land over which it has control,

• we should strengthen the application of the existing GM-free policy for all goods and services for which the Council is responsible, and

• we should raise awareness of this policy with all its partners, tenants and residents.

Council calls upon the Cabinet to:

• strengthen Council policy accordingly

• draw up a map-based register of all growers within South Gloucestershire who have, or aim to have organic status in order to provide evidence of geographically definable areas that require protection, and

• ensure that this Council's view is heard wherever applications for Part C consents are applied for that may affect these growers.

Furthermore, this Council calls upon the Secretary of State to resist all pressures to allow any further development of commercial GM crops in this country, and urges all Members to respond to the consultation currently on the DEFRA public website (GM Debate)."

If you are a journalist seeking press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

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