1.E-mail the UK supermarkets
2.Biotech Mailout of July 2005
3.New EU moratorium on GM cultivation
4.The results of the Council votes on the national bans and MON863 broken down nation by nation
5.Morley's excuses for Britain being the only country to vote against all national bans
------

1.E-mail the UK supermarkets

As a follow up to the Sainsbury's extravaganza on GM animal feed, we've got a new email action to the big 4 supermarkets - it's important they feel the pressure on this now - please take action and forward to friends and family:

http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/real_food/press_for_change/gm_labelling/index.html
------

2.Biotech Mailout of July 2005

Dear friends,

Friends of the Earth Europe is happy to inform you that the latest edition of our Biotech Mailout of July 2005 can now be downloaded from
http://www.foeeurope.org/GMOs/publications/Biotech_July_2005.pdf

List of contents of the Biotech Mailout:
*********************************
* New EU moratorium on GM cultivation
* Legal advice on coexistence – Commission's recommendations FLAWED
* German biotech law under threat
* Industry hijacks the biosafety protocol
* US Government and Biotech Firm deceive public on GM Corn mix-up
* Bt10 contamination continues to spread
* Aarthus convention: public gains right to participate
* GMO trade dispute delayed again
* Regions demand 'power-sharing' over GMO decisions at EU

Notes:

1.The Biotech Mailout is published four times a year and can be downloaded from http://www.foeeurope.org/GMOs/Index.htm

Best regards,
Carmen
Carmen Olmedo
GMO Campaign & Bite Back Campaign Assistant
Friends of the Earth Europe
------

3.New EU moratorium on GM cultivation
http://www.foeeurope.org/GMOs/publications/Biotech_July_2005.pdf

The EU Environment Commissioner has blocked all new applications for growing GM crops in Europe. According to newspaper reports, Stavros Dimas has ordered all to be halted until the issues of co-existence and the contamination of seeds are addressed at a European level. The new moratorium is likely to be a big set back for the biotech companies; they were hoping this year would see the first approval to grow GM crops for seven years.

The moratorium has the potential to last a long time. The Agriculture Commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel, has still not made any clear com-mitment to bring in EU laws for coexistence, and the seed contamination issue is a long-running dilemma for the Commission with no solution in sight. Neither issue looks likely to be solved this year. However, while solutions to these problems are key to protecting GM-free farming and consumer choice, another area of debate is rising up the agenda. A clash of opinions looks likely about how to assess the impact of approving GM crops for cultivation on EU biodiversity.
------

4.The results of the Council votes on the national bans etc.
can be found on the web at: http://www.foeeurope.org/ban_risky_gm_food/index.php

http://www.foeeurope.org/GMOs/pending/votes_results.htm
------

5.Morley's excuses for Britain being the only country to vote against all national bans

[Morley is the man Blair put in to do his bidding as Secretary of State for the Environment when he sacked Michael Meacher. Meacher has since indicated his unhappiness when a minister with the fact that Blair never once discussed GM policy with him, eben though he took advice from Lord Sainsbury and other unelected figures. There is nothing to suggest that Morley is doing anything other than carry out Blair's instructions.]

GM Crops

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what position the Government took on each of the votes at the recent meeting of EU environment ministers on Commission proposals to require countries to lift national bans on specified GM crops. [8735]

Mr. Morley: The UK voted to support the Commission decisions calling for the member states to withdraw their safeguard actions invoked under Article 23 of Directive 2001/18 because the scientific evidence provided does not justify taking such action. While the UK is very willing to consider any evidence that restrictions on specified GM crops could be justified, no new evidence was submitted to back such a case.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how each EU country voted at the Environment Council in respect of the Commission proposal to rescind national bans on GM crops; and for what reasons the UK voted as it did. [9477]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 4 July 2005]: The majority of member states either voted against the Commission proposals to rescind national bans on certain specified GM crops, or abstained. The formal record of the Council meeting has not yet been published, so I cannot yet confirm how each member state voted . However once this information is available, I shall place a copy in the Library.

While the UK is always ready to consider new information relating to the risk assessment of approved GMOs, the UK voted to support the Commission decisions because in our view the actions taken by the member states to invoke safeguard actions are not justified by the scientific evidence and are not in compliance with the terms of Directive 2001/18. Under the terms of the Deliberate Release Directive safeguard action may only be taken if adequate scientific evidence is provided to justify the claim. In these cases the UK Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment agree with the European Food Safety Authority that no new evidence has been brought forward for consideration.

Go to a Print friendly Page

Email this Article to a Friend

Back to the Archive