1.URGENT ACTION ALERT: Background
2.Addresses
3.Example letter
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1.URGENT ACTION ALERT: Please Write About French Pharma Crops
[from the UK's GM FREEZE CAMPAIGN]

Dear GM Freeze Supporter,

Background

The French Government has just approved 17 new GM test sites -- including maize and tobacco genetically engineered to produce pharmaceuticals. These would be grown outdoors at secret locations and could result in unidentified pharmaceuticals in food, feed and the produce of animals eating feed -- that then gets sold throughout Europe.

Pharmaceutical crops or "pharming" are second generation GM crops designed to produce drugs, vaccines and other medical products. They have already been grown experimentally in the USA where problems of contamination have already occurred.

In 2003, GM maize containing genes to produce a vaccine for transmissible gastroenteritis vaccine in pigs developed by Prodigene contaminated a following soya crop destined for human food and animal feed. The incident highlights the risks of contamination of a food crops with potentially harmful and untested products intended for medical application.

Locations of GM test sites in France are kept secret meaning that neighbouring farmers are unable to take action to prevent the risk of contamination by GM pollen fertilizing their plants. France exports a variety of maize products to the UK including seed and grain for animal feed.

International protests could stop these trials. Here's how.....

What you can do - threaten to boycott French Cheese

Write to your supermarket telling them you will boycott French dairy products if the trials go ahead.

A model letter is attached that you can adapt if you wish. The addresses of the major supermarkets are below, or you can email via the website links below if you prefer.

We would be grateful if you would pass any replies on to us at the contact details at the bottom of this message.

Carrie Stebbings, Co-ordinator
GM FREEZE CAMPAIGN
94 White Lion Street
London
N1 9PF
Tel: 020 7837 0642
Fax: 020 7837 1141
[email protected]
www.gmfreeze.org

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2.Addresses

UK SUPERMARKET HQs

Asda
T: 0500 100 055
Customer Relations, Asda House, Southbank,
Great Wilson Street, Leeds LS11 5AD
E: via www.asda.com

Booths
T: 01772 251 701
Buying director, 4 Fishergate, Preston PR1 3LJ
E: via www.burgundyblue.co.uk/booths_feedback.html

Co-op
T: 0800 317 827
Customer Relations, The Co-operative Group,
FREEPOST MR 9473, Manchester M4 8BA
E: [email protected]

Iceland Foods
T: 01244 842 842
Iceland Foods plc, Second Avenue,
Deeside Industrial Estate, Flintshire CH5 2NW
E: via www.iceland.co.uk

Marks & Spencer
T: 0845 302 1234
Marks & Spencer Retail Customer Service,
Chester Business Park, Kings Meadow,
Wrexham Road, Chester CH4 9GA
E: [email protected]

Morrisons
T: 01274 356 000
Customer Services Department,
Parry Lane,
Bradford BD4 8TD

Sainsbury's
T: 0800 636 262
Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, 33 Holborn,
London EC1N 2HT
Email via www.sainsburys.co.uk

Somerfield
T: 0117 935 6669
Customer Services, Somerfield Stores Ltd,
Somerfield House, Whitchurch Lane,
Bristol BS14 OTJ
E: [email protected]

Tesco
T: 0800 505555
Customer Services, Tesco, PO Box 73,
Baird Avenue, Dundee DD1 9NF
E: [email protected]

Waitrose
T: 0800 188 884
Customer Services, Waitrose Ltd,
Doncastle Road, Southern Industrial Estate,
Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 8YAE: [email protected]
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EXAMPLE LETTER

Dear Sirs,

RE: YOUR FRENCH CHEESES AND SECRET TRIALS OF BIOPHARMACEUTICAL MAIZE

I am very concerned about the possible contamination of your company's selection of French cheeses with GM products if field trials go ahead in France of GM biopharmaceutical maize. The pharmaceuticals from these secret trial crops could get into cheeses via the feed of cows as a result of cross pollination of a crop with one destined for animal feed.

If the trial proceeds as planned, I will serious consider stopping purchasing French cheese from you store.

If such contamination occurs resulting in widespread product withdrawal there is currently no legislation to compensate you for loss of sales. I therefore urge you to communicate your concern about these irresponsible crop trials to the French Embassy, Chamber of Commerce and dairy industry.

There are a number of reasons why I believe such trials are irresponsible:

1. Biopharmaceutical crops pose completely new health threats because they create their own pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines - and, like earlier kinds of GM crops they have not undergone the long-term safety testing required by the pharmaceutical approvals process.

2. These crops are being tested irresponsibly outdoors, rather than in greenhouses, increasing the risk that they will contaminate food and feed crops.

3. The pharmaceuticals are being produced in a food crop (maize) instead of non-food crops, which means that they can cross pollinate with and contaminate food crops of the same species.

4. They are being grown in secret locations, which means that neighbouring farmers do not know whether they are at risk of cross pollination.

5. In the EU there are, as yet, no liability, co-existence, or compensation laws in place to protect conventional or organic farmers or the food industry.

6. There are currently no tests to identify foods contaminated with biopharmaceuticals and the Port Health Authorities are taking very little action to prevent GM contaminated produce from getting in to the UK.

In short, these biopharmaceutical trials are a potential health threat to your customers and a financial threat to you and your suppliers. I urge you to join the objections from across the EU to the French government and request that they terminate the trails pending a full debate on whether such crops are sustainable, the use of food crops for biopharmaceutical production and on secrecy about the locations of GM trial sites.

Yours sincerely,

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