Michael chaired this workshop in the context of concurrent efforts currently underway to set up GM free zones around the EU. His further remarks may be found in some of the speakers' transcripts. Transcript. See also the text of his original speech which was distributed to participants in hard copy.

"My role as Deputy President of IFA is one of protecting and speaking for the farmers of Ireland, giving them a voice. The IFA's stance on GMOs is: Keep GM products out of Ireland. We don't need them. We certainly can't pay for them. And our customers don't want them." Transcript.

Marks & Spencer is the largest food retailer in the world that can say that 100% of our food is free of GM ingredients and derivatives. We sell about GB£3.5 billion worth of food, which is tiny compared to Wal-Mart or Tesco. We have to have an absolute point of difference from our competitors. One of our points of difference is food that is trustworthy. Transcript.

"The Welsh Assembly signaled to the UK Government that it was prepared to use its veto to prevent Chardon LL maize being put on the UK National Seed List. This successfully prevented this crop being grown anywhere in the UK for some years. As a result, Bayer has withdrawn Chardon LL, and Monsanto also recently quit the UK because of the level of resistance there." Transcript.

"How is the government going to ensure that our native agricultural and wild biodiversity can be protected from GM contamination? They talk about 6km buffer zones, but contaminated maize has been found 60km from where GM crops were grown in Mexico." Transcript.

"The Bt. cotton failure cost the Indian farming industry a loss of €20m in one season. Monsanto refused to acknowledge the failure or provide any compensation to the farmers. Neither affluent populations nor those struggling to survive have the need for an inadequately tested technology that has the potential to cause devastation on a global scale." Transcript.

"There is no such thing as co-existence. It is now virtually impossible to grow organic oil-seed rape in Canada, because of widespred contamination by GM crops. The anti-GM movement is sometimes accused of creating hysteria or spreading misinformation, but it's nothing compared to the misinformation from the biotech companies. Transcript.

"I would ask our Government to declare Ireland a GM free-zone; prohibit the use of GM ingredients in animal feed; begin negotiations with the UK government to achieve an all island GM-free zone; and invest more money into the organic farming industry." Transcript.

"22 European countries now have GM-free zones or campaigns. If a country or a region wants to be GM-free to market its agriculture and food produce, weíve got to find the laws to allow them to do so, regardless of whether itís in breach of the World Trade Organisation." Transcript.

Participants and speakers engage in a lively conversation to explore what they can do to mobilise their own and other stakeholder groups to make a difference, in the lead up to the follow-up conference planned for the weekend of 19-20 June 2004. Transcript.