HALTING GMO POLLUTION
FoE European Campaign
Launched
In May this year it was revealed that
thousands of tonnes of oilseed rape seed
contaminated with genetically modified
organisms (GMOs) had been sold to a number
of European countries by the Canadian
company Advanta Seeds. Hundreds of farmers
have unwittingly bought and planted this
contaminated seed, and many now fear that
they will be unable to sell it. This
scandal proves that current GMO regulations
and controls are far from adequate, and
highlights the need to ensure that farmers
and consumers are not forced to plant crops
and eat food that they do not want.
GMOs pose very real threats to human
health and the environment. GM foods may
potentially contain new toxins and
allergens, have altered nutritional value
and carry antibiotic resistance. Herbicide
resistance in crops is very likely to
encourage the greater use of chemicals
(rather than reduced use as biotech
companies claim) with subsequent adverse
effects on biodiversity and wildlife. Crops
genetically modified to be insect-resistant
(for example by producing the toxin Bt)
have been shown to harm beneficial and
benign insects as well as the pests. A
further and very significant potential
threat is that of genetic pollution.
According to official research,
cross-pollination between GM and non-GM
crops is "inevitable". This could mean the
uncontrolled and irreversible spread of GMO
traits resulting in, for example, herbicide
resistant "superweeds" and a build-up of
toxins in the wildlife food chain. GMO
pollution also puts the livelihoods of
farmers who wish to produce GMO-free or
organic food at risk. FoE England, Wales
and Northern Ireland (EWNI) research has
recently discovered honey contaminated with
GM pollen from a nearby GMO trial crop (see
box).
Take Action!
FoE's
European Campaign to Halt GMO
Pollution
was launched in March of this
year. The honeybee, as an unwitting agent
of GMO pollution, is the symbol of the
campaign. Twenty-four FoE groups have
joined in: from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark,
England, Wales and Northern Ireland,
France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg,
Macedonia, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland,
Scotland, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland and the Ukraine. Thus far
campaigners have shared information,
expertise and ideas; produced and
distributed resources ("starter packs",
leaflets and stickers); and organized a
campaigner's meeting and joint actions
throughout Europe.
The launch of the campaign coincided
with the release of FoE survey results
showing that European food manufacturers
are shunning GMOs. FoE EWNI contacted 21 of
the world’s top food and drink companies
and asked them for their policy on GMO
ingredients and derivatives in the food
they sold in Europe. The survey showed
that, faced with consumer opposition to
GMOs, nearly all of Europe’s top 20 food
processing companies, including Unilever,
Nestlé and Kraft/Jacobs/Suchard, have
either already removed or intend to remove
GM ingredients from their product lines.
What is apparent, however, is that even if
companies wish to get ingredients from
GMO-free sources, this cannot always be
guaranteed due to the non-labelling of
derivatives such as soya and maize.
Furthermore, the companies do not yet
extend their GMO-free policy to dairy
products and meat from animals fed on GM
crops. Some companies’ policies towards
GMOs vary from country to country according
to the level of consumer concern -- a case
of double standards. The results were
released Europe-wide and backed up by
several similar national surveys carried
out by FoE groups.
The initiation of the campaign was also
marked by the launch of a very informative
web site: . FoE Europe's May conference
"Sustainable Agriculture in the New
Millennium" was another important aspect of
the campaign launch.
European Legislation Now!
European legislation that addresses FoE’s
concerns regarding GMOs is crucial. The
current EU GM legislation is under
revision, and since the launch of the FoE
campaign, Members of the European
Parliament (MEPs) have received hundreds of
letters from concerned individuals from all
corners of Europe.
In April, European regulatory
initiatives suffered a serious setback when
the European Parliament rejected a number
of amendments to Directive 90/220 governing
GMOs. Although some improvements to the
Directive were made, Parliamentarians
backed down from voting for amendments that
would protect the environment and human
health in three key areas. They failed to
vote for a ban on GMOs containing
antibiotic resistant marker genes despite
their potential risks to human health; they
failed to take measures which would prevent
gene transfer from GMOs to other organisms
in the environment; and they failed to make
biotech companies liable for damage caused
by GM crops. The directive will next go
through a conciliation process which
involves "horse trading" between the
Council and Parliament before a third and
final vote in the European Parliament later
in the year. The FoE campaign will keep up
the pressure during this interim
period.
Lobbying of MEPs on the revision of
European legislation on GMOs has been an
important part of the campaign, but it is
considered equally important to consider
the situation in those countries outside
the EU where consumer awareness of GMO
issues is often low and where legal regimes
are different or non-existent. Research
into biotech activity and GMOs is currently
being carried out in Central and Eastern
European (CEE) and Newly Independent State
(NIS) countries. Once this research has
been completed, the campaign hopes to
expand and gather momentum.
Kate Bowie,
FoE England, Wales
and Northern Ireland
Funny honey
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In May, FoE England, Wales and
Northern Ireland (EWNI) called for an
immediate ban on the outdoor testing
of genetically modified oilseed rape
and maize after shop-bought honey was
found to contain GM pollen. The honey
was purchased in an area where GM
crops were grown last year.
The honey purchased by Friends of
the Earth was sent to Austria for
analysis. Two samples were found to
contain "genetically modified
components" from the biotech company
Aventis, which tests its GM crops in
the UK and is taking part in the
government's farm-scale trials
programme. Last year, FoE EWNI
discovered genetically manipulated
oilseed rape pollen in beehives over
two and a half miles from the nearest
GM trial site.
The British beekeeping industry
immediately took steps to ensure that
its honey is free from GM
contamination, and advised its
members to move hives at least six
miles from the nearest trial sites.
However, if GM crops get full
commercial approval, the location of
the GM sites will not have to be made
public and beekeepers will not be
able to move their hives.
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FoE England, Wales and Northern
Ireland
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GE-Free picnics
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FoE EWNI is organizing mass GE-free
picnics all over the United Kingdom
in early July to support the
international campaign for a Five
Year Freeze on genetic engineering in
food and farming. Picnickers have
been provided with advice on where to
buy organic and GMO-free food, and
local politicians and supermarket
managers will be invited to join some
of the picnics.
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