GM Freeze says Zero Should Mean Zero

by Ellen Teague

CEL attended the London AGM of GM Freeze earlier this month and met up with a small but enthusiastic group of organisations which campaign against the imposition of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) crops. These included GM Watch UK , Practical Action and Friends of the Earth.

GM Freeze is tackling the European Commission's desire to drop the current zero tolerance policy toward unauthorised GMOs in imports of animal feed. GM Freeze feels the potential risks to human and animal health should not be ignored, or the very strong public opposition to GMOs across the EU. The proposal means some GMOs will not have been through the EU's safety assessment procedure when they enter the food chain. The proposals give no suggestions as to how liability will be handled if something goes wrong once this low-level contamination enters the food chain. Pete Riley of GM Freeze says, "the Commission proposals are a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, and they put human and animal safety at risk from contamination with GMOs that may never have undergone any safety testing anywhere in the world".

GM Freeze is keeping an eye on such issues as Cloned Animals, the effects of GMOs on bees and supermarket meat fed on GM Soya. Another key area is how the British Government's Department for International Development (DFID)is putting significant research money towards pro-GM companies and industrial farming methods. GM Freeze has also been working since the election to establish an All Party group of MPs on Agro-Ecology, which is exciting news.

It has a new leaflet - 'You have a right to eat and plant GM-Free Food' on its website. See www.gmfreeze.org .

And CEL's GM Page has been updated - click here: