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EU allows Member States to ban GM crops

news release

Commenting on today’s decision by MEPs to allow EU countries to ban the growing of GM crops in their territories, Friends of the Earth Senior Food campaigner Clare Oxborrow said: “This decision is good news for nations like Scotland and Wales, whose political leaders have opposed GM crops and can now ban them from their fields.

“But this ruling is a double-edged sword that could open the door to GM crops being grown in England.

“Successive UK Governments have consistently championed GM crops and food – despite the fact that this technology has been hugely over-hyped and delivered little.

“GM crops are not the solution to the food and farming challenges we face. Instead of continuing to back this technology, UK Ministers should give their support to resilient and sustainable systems that boost our health, economy and environment.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. On Tuesday 13 January the European Parliament voted on new legal mechanisms for national governments to ban the cultivation of GM crops in their countries. Governments will be able to ban entire categories of GM crops, eg all GM maize, or all herbicide tolerant crops. This could lead to GMO-free fields for the next decade, as all GM crops currently in the pipeline for Europe are maize seeds.

For over 15 years the cultivation of GM crops has been controversial in the EU. Nine EU countries have banned their cultivation (Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg and Poland). These national bans have been challenged by the European Commission, as well as the biotech industry, resulting in many national environment ministers supporting proposals to strengthen their legal rights to ban GM crops. The European farming sector shows limited interest in GM crops. In 2014, only 0.1 per cent of crop land was cultivated with Monsanto’s GM maize Mon810 (the only GM crop approved for growing) in Spain and smaller areas in four other countries. In 2013, biotech companies BASF and Monsanto announced that they were phasing out the development of GM crops for the European market and started withdrawing most pending authorisations.

2. In countries where GM crops are grown they have led to:
–  Further intensification of farming, putting pressure on scarce resources;
–  Huge increases in the use of herbicides – with knock-on impacts on the environment and people’s health;
–  The GM contamination of non-GM food and animal feed, including by non-approved varieties
–  Financial losses for non-GM farmers and food producers;
–  Farmers being sued by biotech companies for breaching patent rights after their crops have been contaminated with GM.

3. Friends of the Earth briefing on GM crops.

For press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust

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