Archived press release

South hams goes gm-free

14 February 2003

South Hams District Council in Devon has voted to go GM-free. The decision has been warmly welcomed by Friends of the Earth which launched a GM-free Britain Campaign [1] in October last year.

A council meeting yesterday (Thursday 13 February) voted in favour of the following motion:

"This Council declares that the District of South Hams will be kept free of Genetically Modified (GM) crops and GM food and feed. To this end, this Council commits to:

• Requesting the Secretary of State for Agriculture to provide legal protection for this district as a GM-free area, in line with Article 19 of 2001/18/EC;
• Ensuring that no GM crops are grown on land over which it has control;
• a GM-free policy* for all goods and services for which this Council is responsible.

*Which includes the exclusion of all GM ingredients, derivatives, and the produce of GM-fed animals."

Friends of the Earth's GM co-ordinator in the South West, Keith Hatch, said

"We congratulate South Hams District council for doing all it can to keep its area free from GM food and crops. People throughout the country have made it clear that they don't want People throughout the country have made it clear that they don't want their food, farming and wildlife threatened by GM pollution. That's why local authorities up and down the country are considering adopting similar motions to South Hams. It's now time for the Government to listen - people don't want GM food and crops."

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

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust