The government policy to declare the island of Ireland as a GMO-free zone:
Ireland's new coalition government (with the Green Party's John Gormley TD as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Eamon Ryan TD as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, and Trevor Sargent TD as Minister of State for Food and Horticulture), aims "to negotiate for the whole island of Ireland to become a GMO-free zone", i.e. off-limits to the open release of genetically modified (GM) seeds, crops, trees, insects, crustaceans, fish and livestock. The policy is supported by Michelle Gildernew MP of Sinn Féin who is in charge of Agriculture in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Declaring the whole island of Ireland a GMO-free zone is good for business, health and the environment. It will protect the health of our livestock and human population, save our landscape from being invaded by GM superweeds, protect farmers from GM patent infringement lawsuits and loss of market share, and provide livestock and food exporters, restaurants, hotels and tourist operators with a competitive advantage by positioning Irish food with the most credible safe GM-free brand in Europe.
GMO seeds are patented by giant transnational agri-biotech corporations (which already control 50% of the world's agricultural seeds) as part of their business strategy to control the world's agricultural seeds: whoever controls the seeds controls the food. WTO, EU and Irish patent laws empower agbiotech giants like Monsanto to sue contaminated farmers for patent infringment and to claim ownership of their seeds and crops (see warning to Irish farmers from Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser). The US Government, the World Trade Organisation and the European Commission are still trying to force EU Member States to accept GM food, feed and crops against our will, and refuse to recognise the democratic human right of sovereign national and regional governments to put blanket bans on GM food and crops if they so choose.
Prior to the June 2007 Irish general election, the previous government colluded with the powerful agri-biotech lobby, the WTO, and the EC to force patented genetically modified (GM) seeds, crops, feed and food into Europe, despite abundant evidence of their agronomic, health, environmental, legal, economic and food security risks including scientific evidence of related deaths and disease in laboratory animals, livestock and the human population. (See our introduction to GM food and farming issues for background information.)
Ireland's new policy to declare itself a GM-free zone makes economic sense, for the simple reason that there is no market for GM food in Europe. GM food and crops are banned or restricted by 11 national governments and 236 regional governments in 22 EU member states; GM food is refused by the EU's 60 largest food brands and retailers, and by the majority of EU consumers. Leading retailers across Europe are now extending their bans on GM food to exclude meat, poultry and dairy produce from livestock fed on GM ingredients. Contrary to biotech industry propaganda widely disseminated in some irresponsible Irish media outlets, certified non-GM-free animal feed is both available and affordable. For example, the premium for non-GMO soya meal certified at the 0.1% detection threshold is around € 0.01102 (1 cent) per kilo, delivered to any port in Ireland. This tiny extra cost can easily be recouped by the GM-free food premia now being offered by leading EU retailers.
The European Network of GMO-free Regions, which currently includes 39 Regional Governments in 6 EU Member States, is coordinating the EU-wide movement to phase out the use of GM animal feed as part of its strategy to boost the sustainability of rural communities and provide value-added production to preserve competitive and high-quality agriculture in the context of the globalisation of food markets.
Ireland's first priority is to prevent the release of live GMO seeds (whether for animal feed, biofuels, or food) which can never be recalled and would contaminate our ecosystem and food chain in perpetuity. The second priority is to scrap the Department of Agriculture's prior strategy "to ensure the co-existence of GM crops with conventional and organic farming", because hundreds of contamination incidents in 40 countries prove that "co-existence" is a myth: GM crops rapidly contaminate related and unrelated species, agricultural seed supplies, and the human food chain, and would rapidly destroy Ireland's image as the clean green food island.
In view of the massive opposition to the GM-free Ireland policy (which is coming from the biotech industry, the WTO, EC and the US government), Irish local authorities, landowners, farmers, food producers, golf course operators, hotels, restaurants, B&Bs and consumers should support our government policy by taking action to declare their local areas as GMO-free zones without delay.
The GM free Ireland Network is a coalition of businesses, farming organisations and Non Governmental Organisations collaborating to conserve Ireland's sovereign democratic right to conserve its GM-free status. We have the largest number and the broadest diversity of stakeholder groups of any NGO on this island. Our 130 organisational members (and the populations of the 9 Irish counties and 9 city or town councils which oppose the cultivation of GM crops) now represent over 1 million citizens.
Please join us free of charge and take action today, for as Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world".
Nine European countries have total or near total bans on GM seeds and crops and livestock, as do 175 regional governments, 3,500 local authorities and 1,000 smaller areas across 22 EU member states. See European map.
GMO-free zones in Ireland
These include 9 counties (Cavan, Clare, Fermanagh, Kildare, Kerry, Meath, Roscommon, Monaghan, and Westmeath), the District of Newry & Mourne in counties Armagh and Down, and the towns of Bantry, Bray, Clonakilty, Cork, Derry, Galway City, Letterkenny, and Navan) and 1,000 smaller areas, representing over 1 million citizens (see map). Ask your Town or County Council to pass this GMO-free zone motion to prohibit live GMO seeds, crops, trees, fish and livestock in your area.
Click map for larger view
Unlike other EU countries, the Irish and UK governments still do not recognise the democratic legal right of local authorities to prohibit GM seeds and crops. Local Authorities in the Republic and Northern Ireland are therefore advised to join the Assembly of European Regions (www.a-e-r.org) which is lobbying for EC legislation to recognise the legal right of member states and regions to decide about GM crops in their area.
Proceedings of the Green Ireland Conference • June 2006
Branding for farming, food and eco-tourism Vandana Shiva, Percy Schmeiser, Deborah Koons Garcia & Benedikt Haerlin
Delegates from America, Asia and Europe attending this conference gave a strong warning that Ireland's world famous clean green image – which provides a competitive advantage for our food, farm, and tourism industries – will soon be lost if the Irish government and the Irish Farmers Association fail to resist pressure from the WTO and the European Commission to force the release of patented genetically modified (GM) animal feed, seeds, crops, trees, fish and livestock here. The event provided a historic opportunity for Irish policy makers and stakeholders to meet with key international experts to explore our democratic participation, legal rights and responsibilities for the future of food and farming – and Ireland's brand recognition in a globalising world. Proceedings, photos, and press release.
Irish consumer, business and political opinion on GMOs
Public opinion surveys by Eurobarometer, Consumers International, the Irish Times / Ireland.Com, NewsTalk 106, Teagasc, the Irish Institute for Bioethics, and related statements by Irish politicians show that the vast majority of Irish people oppose GM food and farming and do not trust GM safety claims by government and industry. We will soon add the results of research by Fáilte Ireland on the impact that GM farming would have on tourist perceptions of Ireland as a "clean green" destination, and of a GM-free Ireland survey of Irish food industry policies on GM food.
Canada attacks Ireland's GM-free policy
The Government of Canada is engaged in an undercover dirty tricks campaign to harrass and discredit Ireland's policy in favour of a ban on GMO crops and livestock. As the world's second largest producer of GM crops, Canada is desperately trying to force EU member states to accept its unwanted GM produce. The project seems to be co-ordinated by an Irish citizen called Shane Morris, who is employed as a Senior Consumer Analyst at the Consumer Analysis Section of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. In July 2007 Morris threatened the GM Free Ireland Newtwork with a defamation lawsuit because we revealed that a controversial "scientific paper" which Morris co-authored has been criticised for being extremely misleading in a series of articles published, inter alia, by New Scientist magazine and by the UK public interest non-governmental organisation, GM Watch. On 17 August 2007, Morris managed to temporarily disable the GM Watch website which published the scoop. In the latest diplomatic gaffe, Morris is using a second threat of legal action against the GM Free Ireland Network unless we remove all mention of his name from on our web site!
Canada's attempt to interfere in Ireland's GM-free policy, and to censor the freedom of speech of NGOs in EU member states, is totally unacceptable. As the saying goes, "He who diggeth a pit shall fall in it". More.
Illegal GM rice cover-up by EFSA and Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI)
Illegal and untested genetically modified (GM) rice from the USA and China has been on sale in Ireland for years even though all GM rice is banned in the EU. The American long-grain GM rice variety LL601 manufactured by Bayer CropScience escaped from field experiments in the USA in 1998-2001, and contaminated global food supplies without detection until January 2006. It has since been discovered in 24 countries, including 15 in Europe. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (whose CEO Dr. John O'Brien is a former director of the International Life Sciences Institute biotech industry lobby group) failed to ban US rice imports, require strict control of imports from other rice-producing countries, recall suspect products, and delayed testing food samples before callling for some contaminated products to be taken off supermarket shelves. More
Poland to phase out GM animal feed following total ban on GM seeds and crops
The EU's largest agricultural producer, Poland, extended its nationwide blanket ban on GMO seeds and crops with a two-year deadline announced on 22 July 2006 for biotech companies to prove that the use of GM animal feed is safe for humans, animals and the environment or face a total ban on further imports of GM feed into Poland. More...
GMO crops can not "co-exist" with conventional & organic farming
In 2003, the EC issued a non-binding and legally flawed EC Recommendation for EU Member States to establish national strategies "to ensure to co-existence of GM crops with conventional and organic farming", despite global evidence that so-called "co-existence" leads to contamination.
In December 2005, the Irish Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan published Ireland's draft strategy "Report on co-existence of GM and non-GM crops", a year after a changed deadline which prevented the majority of invited stakeholder groups from participating in a related public consultation process which also excluded 86% of the stakeholders who will be materially affected by the policy. This clearly violates the legal requirements for public participation in environmental decision-making required by the Aarhus Convention and EU law. The Minister now plans to finalise the strategy by end of 2006 or early 2007 pending negotiations with the Department of Finance on a compensation fund for contaminated farmers! Read about the consultation process and download the report.
In June 2006, Greenpeace published Impossible co-existence: Seven years of GMOs have contaminated organic and conventional maize: an examination of the cases in Catalonia and Aragon (928 KB PDF file). The report shows that the EC's strategy for "co-existence" is a recipe for widespread contamination.
In July 2006, the UK published its draft strategy on "co-existence" which was widely described as a farce. Notable among its blunders is a recommended separation distance of 35 meters for GM rapeseed, despite scientific evidence that wind-blown pollen from GM rapeseed has contaminated conventional crops 26km from its source, a voluntary system of compensation for ruined non-GM farmers, and permission for GM crops to be grown at secret locations (rejecting a public register of sites sanctioned by EU law)! If approved, the UK stragegy is a recipe for irreversible GM contamination of Irish food and farms across the border with Northern Ireland. Media coverage.
The world's largest chemicals company BASF has given up its plans for a controversial patented GMO potato experiment in Co. Meath this year, and may cancel it altogether.
BASF said it made the decision because of the conditions imposed in the provisional consent given by the Environmental Protection Agency on 8 May. These included obligations for the company to reduce the risk of cross-contamination of neighbouring farmers and wildlife, and to pay the costs of an independent monitoring of health and environmental impacts. BASF complained that such conditions had not been imposed for similar experiments in Sweden.
BASF CEO Hans Kast, who also chairs the biotech lobby Europa-Bio, announced that all the European countries which oppose GM food and crops should "get out of the EU"!
The cancellation may also have been influenced by nationwide opposition from more than 100 farm and food industry groups, resistance by TDs from all the parties, two motions passed unanimously by Meath Co. Council, and the threat of further legal action on planning and constitutional grounds.
The Meath Council's first motion declares Meath a GMO-free zone (making Meath the sixth county on this island to prohibit GMO seeds and crops). The second motion calls on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to not allow the experimental growing of any GMO seeds or crops in Ireland. The Co. Council's decisions came on foot of the EPA's provisional approval for the experiment to go ahead.
Download 9 May press release.
The Council also said it was filing an appeal to An Bord Pleanála (the Planning Appeals Board) for a declaration that its plannning permission is required for the experiment.
The Councillors said their planning permission is required (a) to rezone the land from agricultural to industrial use (since the aim of growing transgenic potatoes not authorised for animal feed or food does not confirm with normal agricultural practice), and (b) for the high-security electrical fence which the EPA has required BASF to install at the site. The Council and other parties said they may take the case to the High Court for an Order to block the experiment under Section 160 of the Planning Development Act 2000. The experiment could also be stopped on a range of Constitutional grounds. An Taisce (the National Trust for Ireland), said this will trigger a lengthy legal procedure that will effectively prevent the release of GMO crops in Meath for the foreseeable future.
Farmers, food producers, chefs and consumers around Europe celebrated Meath's GMO-free declaration as a victory for common sense and local democracy. Carlo Petrini, the founder of Slow Food International welcomed the move as part of the "battle for civilisation". Leading chef Darina Allen said the future of Bord Bía's label Ireland - the food island depends on producing top quality safe food. Irish food critic John McKenna said the EPA's license sends a disastrous message to the many countries who purchase Irish food. Benedikt Haerlin, who organises the annual European GMO-free Regions Conference, said "We welcome Co. Meath's initiative which is backed by 175 regions and 3,500 local authorities in 22 EU member states." The move is also supported by the Irish Cattle and Sheepfarmers Association, the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association, the Organic Trust, the Irish Doctors Environmental Association, An Taisce - the National Trust for Ireland, Euro-Toques Ireland (the country's 160 leading chefs), the Labour Party, the Green Party, Sinn Féin and numerous MEPS, Senators and TDs. GM-free Ireland co-ordinator Michael O'Callaghan said "Meath Co. Council has shown the wisdom of the subsidiarity principle, whereby political decisions on GM farming are best taken democratically at the local level by the farmers and citizens who will be affected by them, rather than by unaccountable bureaucrats in Dublin, the European Commission, and the WTO."
Irish politicians call on EC to recognise legal right to declare GMO-free zones and for Ireland to remain GMO-free for food security of EU member states
At a GM-free Ireland press conference held on European Day, 10 May 2006 at the European Commission Office in Dublin, Marian Harkin MEP, Martin Ferris TD, Michael Mulcahy TD, Trevor Sargent TD, Kathy Sinnott MEP, and Mary Upton TD called for the whole island of Ireland to become a GMO-free zone for the food security of the other EU member states, and said the EC must recognise the democratic legal right of member states and regions to ban all GMO seeds, crops, trees and livestock if they wish to do so. (See map of EU GMO-free zones).
The press conference was held immediately prior to a speech by EC Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Mariann Fischer-Boel in the Dáil - the first such visit by an EC Commissioner to the Irish Parliament.
Kathy Sinnott MEP, the independent European Parliament delegate to the World Trade Organisation, said the EC's refusal to recognise Ireland's right to conserve its GM-free status would topple the EU Constitution. The EC cannot achieve the EU Constitution without it being approved by referendum in Ireland. She said "Remaining GMO-free is vital for the health of the Irish people and for all those who consume Irish farm and food produce around the world, and for the economic viability of the Irish farm and food sectors. The EU's attempt to force GMO seeds and crops on us will make it impossible to convincingly market Irish food as safe and healthy under Bord Bía's brand of Ireland - the Food Island.
Her warning came as a final WTO ruling on the US-EU GMO trade war claimed that EC-approved bans on GMO crops broke trade rules. Greenpeace International said the WTO verdict proves it is unqualified to deal with complex scientific and environmental issues, as it puts trade interests above all others.
Marian Harkin MEP (Independent) also called for Ireland to be declared a GMO-free zone and for the EC to recognise our legal right to do so.
Trevor Sargent TD, leader of the Green Party, accused the EC of colluding with the WTO to indulge the commercial colonisation tactics of GM biotech companies. "The fight to ensure the people can keep the country free of GMO seed and crops now takes on a renewed impetus following the recent decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to grant permission for GM trials in Co. Meath. An historic blow for democracy was struck last Monday by Meath County Council when a Green Party motion that the county should be made a GM free zone was unanimously endorsed. Meath now joins over 3,500 local authorities and 172 regions, provinces and prefectures which are declared GMO free areas. He told Fisher Boel "The people and farmers of Ireland are not asking, they are telling the European Commission that they will determine the future of our GM free status which up to now has been taken for granted. The words of Herr Rudi Anschober, Minister for the Environment in Austria are a call to action in Ireland too when he says that 'it is a basic principle that we can decide on our own what will grow in our fields! We demand the right of self-determination for the region'."
Mary Upton TD (Labour Party spokesperson on Agriculture and Food) said the Labour party fully supports the campaign to keep the whole island of Ireland GM free and joined the call for the EC to recognise the democratic right of its member states and regions to remain GM-free if they so choose.
Martin Ferris TD (Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Agriculture and Food) condemned the Government's ongoing attempt to introduce GMO crops and food products into Ireland. "There has been no debate on the issue either in Leinster House or among the general public. No elected body has voted in favour of GM and yet Government officials have consistently adopted a pro-GM stance in Brussels. The implications of GM for Irish agriculture are enormous. If GM crops are allowed to be grown here, non-GM crops will inevitably be contaminated with all the potential damage which that would have on the safety of Irish food produce, and the image of this island as the source of clean safe food."
Michael Mulcahy TD (Fianna Fáil - Government Convener on the Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs and former Lord Mayor of Dublin) aaid "there is absolutely no advantage for the Irish agriculture industry to plant GM crops. Ireland has long has a reputation as a producer of top quality natural fresh food produce. If we go down the GM path, we will reduce our international reputation and become simply another mass food producer. This could have disastrous consequences for Irish agriculture. I am calling on the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mary Coughlan TD, to take a decisive lead in this area. Additionally, there are environmental and food safety issues, and I note that the European Union Environment Commissioner Mr. Stavros Dimas has criticized the European Food Safety Authority for failing to consider the long-term health and environmental risks of GMOs. GM food is bad for Irish agriculture, bad for our environment, and bad for our consumers."
Growing support for local farmers
124 businesses and organisations representing over 32,000 Irish farmers, food producers, food exporters, restaurants, chefs, doctors, environmental groups and consumers have expressed support for local farmers opposed to the GMO potato experiment in Co. Meath.
6,000 people have signed a petition requesting the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan and Environment Minister Dick Roche to protect our health, environment and food security by banning all GMO crops in Ireland.
Please sign the petition or download the form to collect more signatures in your community.
The GM-free Ireland Network urgently needs financial support for this public awareness campaign. Contributions may be given through a registered charity. Please help.
The GM-free Ireland Network (GMFI) is an association of individuals and organisations collaborating to keep the whole island of Ireland free of genetically modified (GM) animal feed, seeds, trees, crops, livestock, fish and food. Membership is open to individuals and organisations free of charge.
We have the largest number and broadest diversity of stakeholders of any Non Governmental Organisation on the island of Ireland. Our members include over 32,000 farmers, cattle exporters, foresters, food producers, food distributors and exporters, leading chefs and restaurants, NGOs, professional associations, doctors, economists, lawyers, journalists, students, and consumers. Listen to our song.
There is now overwhelming scientific evidence of deaths and disease attributable to GM products among laboratory and farm animals and in the human population. Three recent studies of the health risks of GM foods have triggered fresh demands for GM components in human food and animal feed to be banned immediately, and have also led to accusations of criminal negligence aimed at the Irish and UK Governments and the European Commission.
There is no market for GM food in Europe, where GM foods are rejected by the majority of food brands, retailers and consumers. GMO seeds, crops and livestock are illegal in Austria, Greece, Poland, Switzerland, most of Italy and large areas of France, and also prohibited or restricted by 175 regional governments and by over 4,500 local authorities & smaller areas across 22 EU countries because of their health, environmental, legal and economic risks.
The USA, Canada and Argentina filed a WTO trade dispute against the EU claiming that EU restrictions on GM food and crops – which have resulted in a stockpile of US GM food which nobody wants to buy – violate the WTO's so-called "free trade" agreement. On 7 February 2006, the secretive and undemocratic WTO Trade Dispute Panel, which bars public and media access to its deliberations, released an Interim finding that the de facto moratorium imposed by the EU and six member states in recent years – together with individual market and import bans imposed by France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Luxembourg and Greece – are illegal. But EU consumers still refuse GM foods.
Our Government broke its promise never to allow GM food and crops in Ireland, played a leading role to legalise them in Europe, and has never voted against them in the EU Parliament or the Council of Ministers. It has also granted numerous GMO crop patent applications, authorised the use of GM animal feed and food, and approved the importation of live GMO seeds despite two Oireachtas briefings which led to unanimous cross-party opposition from TDs and Senators. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland is still run by Dr. John O'Brien, a former director of the biotech industry funded International Life Sciences Institute. On 22 February 2006, Senator David Norris revealed that Mella Frewen, Director of Government Affairs (Europe-Africa) for Monsanto Services International was on the official Irish Government delegation to the WTO talks in Hong Kong and Cancún!
In August 2003, the European Commission issued a legally flawed Recommendation for EU member states to put in place national strategies to "ensure the co-existence" of GM crops with conventional and organic farming, without any consideration of their health and environmental risks. For details, please download the Friends of the Earth position paper: Contaminate or legislate: European Commission policy on "co-existence" (292kb pdf file).
The Irish Government accepted the flawed EC Recommendation. The Department of Trade and Enterprise then set up an inter-agency Working Group managed by the Department of Agriculture and Food to devise a national strategy to promote the "co-existence" of GM crops. The Working Group falsely claimed it was under a legal obligation from the EC to complete the strategy by early 2005, but only completed its first draft of it a year later, after refusing numerous requests from stakeholders to provide sufficient time for them to make informed submissions. The consultation process excluded 83% of the stakeholders who would be materially affected by such a strategy, in violation of the Aarhus Convention on public participation in environmental decision-making.
GM crops can not "co-exist" without contaminating farmers crops, which must then carry a GM label, for which there is no market. They often do not perform as expected, increase the use of toxic chemicals, create "superweeds", and can never be recalled after their release. Under the Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights agreement, contaminated crops may become the property of patent owners like Monsanto.
This appropriation of our natural capital would be the biggest rip-off in the history of the State – a catastrophe for farmers, and the death blow to Ireland - the food island.
Despite total opposition from farmers, food producers and consumers, the EPA provided conditional approval for a proposal by BASF to introduce 450,000 GMO potatoes as part of a five-year GMO potato experiment at a Teagasc research centre in Co. Meath. See related national protest and press conference. But after Meath Co. Council unanimously passed a motion to prohibit the release of GMOs on its territory, with the threat of further legal action, BASF announced that the experiment was cancelled for this year, if not forever.
6,000 people have signed the GM-free Ireland petition, adding their voices to the 32,000 members of the GM-free Ireland Network which is calling for a ban or moratorium on GMO seeds and crops in Ireland.
In April 2006, the European Commission agreed a proposal by EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou and EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas, to overhaul the authorisation procedures to place GM products on EU markets. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will no longer be allowed to legalise GM foods based on safety claims made solely by the companies that produce GMOs. It is now legally required to conduct independent research on the short- and long-term health and environmental risks of GM food and farming, and to take into account the opinions of member states.
The Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mary Coughlan, has finally admitted that most Irish farmers have no interest in GM crops. But so long as this government fails to establish a total ban or moratorium on GMO crops – as has been done in Austria, Greece, Poland, Switzerland and most of France and Italy – protecting our food security is up to you.
As Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world!"
Owners of Irish livestock, horses and stud farms should avoid the use of genetically modified (GM) animal feed, seeds, crops and food. Contamination by such GMOs may significantly impact their health and the future value of their investments from patent infringement and contamination lawsuits, disease, and breeding issues. GMO animal feed is already widespread in Ireland. Glanbia's Greenvale's Gowla brand of horse feeds contains GM ingredients, as do most from Connolly's Red Mills. Gain Feeds strives to avoid GM content in its horse feeds, but admits they may be contaminated. Eclipse haylage horse feed, and all organic feeds should be GM-free.
Large quantities of unauthorised GM animal feed containing antibiotic resistance genes have also entered the Irish food chain without detection or labelling. A shipment of 2,500 tonnes of illegal Bt10 GM maize from the USA for Arkady Feeds was intercepted at Greenore port in 2005. No-one knows how many million tonnes of undetected or illegal GM ingredients entered the Irish feed and food chain since 2001. Read our flyer >>>
Brazilian GMO soya for Irish animal feed comes from corporate haciendas hacked from Amazon rainforest, turning indigenous people into landless peasant slave labour, and causing widepread pollution with toxic chemicals.
The EC's legalisation of GMO rapeseed for animal feed is an even more dangerous threat. Any spillage will result in the de facto release of a GM crop without required EC and government authorisations. This could irreversibly contaminate Irish broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and turnips within a few seasons, and wipe out organic growers.
Galway goes GMO-free as march for a GMO-free Europe is held on 5 April in Vienna
As Galway City declared itself a GM-free zone, farming groups, food producers, consumer organisations and citizens from EU member states led a historic March for a GMO-free Europe on 5 April in Vienna, Austria, to demonstrate the EU-wide rejection of the "co-existence" of GMO crops and to demand an EC legal framework that recognises the democratic right of the 175 European GMO-free regions and 4,500 Local Authorities and smaller areas in 22 EU member states (including those registered on the GM-free Ireland map) to ban GMO crops if they wish to do so.
The march co-incided with the European conference on the so-called "co-existence" of GMO crops with conventional and organic farming (4-6 April in Vienna) hosted by Austria, which holds the current EU Presidency. A highlight of the conference was EC Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas' attack on the reliability of the European Food Safety Authority's GM crop risk assessments, and his hint there would be no new GM approvals in the near future (see news). For conference details see www.gmofree-europe.org/coexistence_conference.htm. This came right after the meetings of the parties to the Convention on Biodiversity and its Biosafety Protocol in Brazil (13-31 March) which led to a moratorium on GM Terminator seeds.
Irish Farmers Monthly slams IFA and ICMSA on GM apathy
Ireland's GM future - up for debate is Margaret Donnelly's editorial and cover story of the Irish Farmers Monthly, February 2006 issue. The magazine features three articles on GM issues plus an editorial warning that GM is likely to become an even more contentious issue for Irish farmers than the Nitrates Directive, because the general public will have a strong interest. It criticizes the IFA, ICMSA and Macra na Feirme for failing to make any submission on the government's plans to introdce GM crops. "The three farming organisations that claim to represent the vast majority of farmers between them are opting out of laying their cards on the table now... It's even more worrying to hear that the biggest farming lobby group in the country (the IFA) doesn't even have a policy on GM crops... The biggest danger with going down the GM route... is that there is no going back. So if we go down the GM route will Bord Bía have to consider changing its name to Ireland - the GM Food island?"Read the editorial.
The GMO invasion of Ireland:
biopiracy, plunder and property rights
This new report from the GM-free Ireland Network, which you can download as a large 2.8MB pdf file, details the economic, environmental, and food security threats posed by our government's collusion with the biotech industry, the WTO and the European Commission to force GMO seeds and crops into Ireland against the wishes of the majority of farmers and consumers. The report explains the patent laws which enable Monsanto and other transnational corporate owners of GM crop patents to appropriate the ownership of contaminated farmers' crops. It details the dangers of Monsanto's GT73 oilseed rape which can now be legally imported into this country, and the close ties between the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (and its European counterpart) with the biotech industry it is supposed to regulate. The report also provides a useful list of basic GMO facts you need to know, an outline of the legal background, and a list of recommended actions you can still take to prevent the GMO invasion before it happens.
New evidence of harm from GM food triggers call for immediate ban
UK and EC accused of criminal negligence and willful suppression of facts
Three recent studies of the health risks of GM foods have triggered fresh demands for GM components in human food and animal feed to be banned immediately, and have also led to accusations of criminal negligence aimed at the UK Government and European Commission. There is now overwhelming evidence of deaths attributable to GM products among laboratory and farm animals and in the human population. Continues... See also study by Dr. Ermakova.
175 regions + 4,500 local areas in 22 EU member states ban GMO seeds & crops
250 representatives of national and regional governments, provinces and municipalities, companies, farmers unions, consumer and environmental organisations and initiatives from 35 countries attended the second European conference on GMO free Regions, biodiversity and rural development held in Berlin in January 2006. The event was organised by the Assembly of European Regions, the European NGO Network on Genetic Engineering, and the Foundation on Future Farming. The participants broadly rejected the EC concept of "co-existence" between GMO and conventional crops as a dangerous illusion. The conference proceedings (including many useful downloads) are available at www.gmo-free-regions.org.
The conference agenda included scientific evidence on GM contamination and risks, national and regional legislation to prevent the release of GM seeds and crops, and successful business initiatives to source non-GM animal feed.
Taking GM out of Irish meat, poultry and dairy produce
Most Irish non-organic meat, poultry and dairy produce comes from animals fed on GM feed, but is not labeled as such because of a loophole in EU law. Please sign the Greenpeace International petition to close the loophole through mandatory EC labelling of food produce from animals fed on GM feed. The growing overseas demand for meat and dairy produce from non-GM fed animals has created a new market opportunity for Irish farmers.
Holding our politicans accountable
The Irish Government has played a leading role in legalising GMO food and farming in the EU and continues to lie about the risks. But growing numbers of Irish politicians now oppose our Government's undemocratic collusion with the WTO and the EC to legalise GMO seeds and crops against the wishes of the majority of EU member states, food brands, retailers and consumers. What is going on? Political soundbites.
Switzerland bans GMOs in agriculture
Swiss voters approved a five-year ban on genetically modified crops, trees and livestock in a national referendum on 27 November 2005. All 26 cantons came out in favour of the moratorium. The vote proves the power of the alliance between environmentalists, consumer organisations and farmers, and provides an opportunity for farmers to improve their share of the EU market for safe GMO-free food.
More.
Africa resists biotech industry pressure to accept patented GM seeds and crops
South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Mali are just some of the African countries now banning or restricting the release of GM seeds and crops, to avoid losing market share, dependence on high-input chemicals, and patent royalties. For more see the winter 2005 issue of Science in Society magazine at www.i-sis.org.uk
Who benefits from GM crops?
10 years of biotech crops fail to deliver benefits for consumers and environment
A new report by Friends of the Earth, Who benefits from GM crops?, reveals Monsanto's plan to genetically modify all of Europe's maize by 2010. The report concludes that in the ten years since the introduction of genetically modified (GM) foods in Europe, the biotech industry has failed to deliver any benefits for consumers or the environment, and has not played any role in solving hunger and poverty. The report highlights that over the past 10 years Monsanto and its trade bodies have consistently worked to weaken European laws to protect consumers, the environment and farmers and that despite overwhelming public rejection in Europe, Monsanto and the biotech industry have an unacceptable influence over many parts of European food, research and agriculture policy. The full report is available from ann@foei.org. You can download the key facts and executive summary by cliking the links to the right.
The Meatrix is a 4-minute Flash animation that spoofs The Matrix films while drawing attention to the problems caused by factory farming. Instead of Keanu Reaves, The Meatrix stars a young pig, Leo, who lives on a pleasant family farm ... he thinks. Leo is approached by a trenchcoat-clad cow, Moopheus, who shows him the ugly truth about agribusiness. At the end of the movie, viewers are directed to an action page which provides additional information about factory farms and encourages consumers to support local family farmers and purchase sustainably-raised meat.
The Meatrix has enjoyed unprecedented success as an online advocacy movie; since its release in November 2003, The Meatrix has been screened throughout the world and has been viewed online at www.themeatrix.com by over 5 million people.
Survey finds Irish public massively opposed to GM food and farming
The Irish Council for Bioethics report "Genetically Modified Crops and Food: Threat or Opportunity for Ireland?" (published on 28 November 2005) reads like it was written by Monsanto spin-doctors. It concludes that GMO crops "hold a great deal of promise" and are not "morally objectionable". Amusingly, the Report annex includes the results of the Council's own public consultation on GMOs which reveals that the vast majority of respondents do not trust the government's safety claims on GMOs and oppose their release in Ireland. Download the report (800k PDF file).
EC grants patent for GM "Terminator" seeds
On 5 October 2005, the EC granted the patent for the "Terminator technology". This gives agri-biotech corporations more control of the global food supply through patented seeds genetically modified so that they can't germinate, to prevent farmers from saving and planting their own seeds. "Terminator" gene contamination could lead to famine and ecological catastrophe. An international ban is urgently needed. For more on this subject see our News Headlines for 25 October 2005 and 20 January 2006..
Former Chief Scientific Officer of Ireland tried to suppress EU report on GM crops
"Dr." Barry McSweeney was appointed to the new post of Chief Scientific Officer of Ireland by Mary Harney in 2004 without public advertising or competition, following his prior role as CEO of the EC Joint Research Centre. While head of the latter in 2002, McSweeney attempted to suppress the publication of the EC's official Scenarios for Co-existence report
on the agronomic and economic risks that GM crops would pose to farmers in EU member states (133-pages 1.3mb PDF file).
The report concluded that GM crops inevitably contaminate conventional and organic crops and may cause 40% higher production costs for EU farmers. McSweeney wrote to the EC recommending that the report should not be made public, stating "given the sensitivity of the issue, I would suggest that the report be kept for internal use within the Commission only..." (see related press releases).
McSweeney is a former Director of BioResearch Ireland and Biocon Biochemicals.
In October 2005 it emerged that McSweeney bought his PhD from the so-called Pacific Western University, an online institution which US authorities describe as a "diploma mill". Instead of requiring his resignation when the scandal broke, the Government created another brand new post (Research Co-ordinator within the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources to "progress R&D priority areas of energy, marine, ICT, digital technology and geoscience") on 16 November 2005 to which it immediately appointed him – again without public advertising or competition! This move is being described as adding a new phrase to the English-speaking world: "Doing a lateral McSweeney!"
National emergency as EC legalises importation of first live GMO seeds
On 31 August 2005, following two vote abstentions by Environment Minister Dick Roche, the European Commission crossed a watershed by approving the import of the first patented living genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for use as animal feed. The product, known as GT73 is a live GMO oilseed rape seed patented by Monsanto Inc.
GT73 oilseed rape (Brassica Napus) is very different from other genetically modified (GM) animal feedstuffs now widely used by Irish farmers, because it consists of patented living GMO seeds which will rapidly contaminate related Brassica crops across the country by seed dispersal, transportation, and pollen blowing in the wind. This decision will (1) cause the irreversible GM contamination of Irish farmland; (2) make it difficult or impossible to grow GM-free broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, oilseed rape and turnip; (3) force farmers' contaminated produce to carry a GM label; (4) oblige farmers to pay patent royalties on their contaminated produce; (5) trigger a flurry of patent infringement and contamination lawsuits; (6) result in loss of market share for our farm and food sectors;
(7) deal a fatal blow to organic horticulture; (8) create a plague of herbicide-resistant "superweeds"; (9) violate the consumers' right to chose safe GMO-free food, and (10) destroy Ireland's world-famous reputation as the "clean green food island" - forever.
The EC's decision is epidemiologically equivalent to forcing us to have unprotected sex with someone infected with HIV, in the sense that contamination is inevitable.
GMO contamination also triggers biopiracy. The Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement (together with EC and Irish patent law) appear to assign possession of crops contaminated with patented GMO genes to the patent owner – in this case, Monsanto, as happened in the Percy Schmeiser case. The WTO- and EC-backed introduction of patented GMO seeds, trees, crops, fish and livestock thus enables transnational corporations to appropriate the ownership of our daily food crops and other natural capital resources which until now have always been the property and heritage of Irish citizens. This violates our Constitution, is unethical, unsustainable, and the biggest conceivable rip-off in the history of the State!
GM-free Ireland wrote to all Irish TDs, Senators and MEPs on 3 October 2005, demanding the Government to use its legal rights under the Biosafety Protocol and EU Directive 2001/18/EC to ban the importation of Monsanto's genetically modified GT73 oilseed rape now, in order to prevent this disaster before it happens.
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson
accused of taking orders from Americans on GMO approvals
GM Free Cymru (Wales) has accused EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson of "taking orders from the Americans" in pushing through approvals for the
import of Monsanto GM maize and rape seed in the absence of sound science and in the face of massive opposition from European
consumers.
Moreover, GM Free Cymru spokesperson Dr. Brian John desribes the European Food Safety Authority, which regularly gives the green light for EC approval of GMO products, as a corrupt organisation which can patently not be entrusted with the health and safety of EU consumers. "The EU rules which allow the Commission
effectively to over-rule a majority of EU nations, and to disregard
both science and the wishes of EU consumers, are patently absurd, and
they must be changed." More.
County Councils invited to sign EU GMO-free zone petition
Canadian warning to Irish farmers on GMO crop threat
Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser faced a million dollar patent infringement lawsuit by Monsanto after his farm became contaminated by their GMO oilseed rape in 1996. He said "Monsanto wants total control of the seed supply, which ultimately would give them total control of the food supply. Any farmer could wake up tomorrow morning and no longer own or be allowed to use his seeds or plants... There is no such thing as "co-existence"! GMOs will destroy conventional and organic farmers because of cross-pollination and contamination. Farmers in Ireland should not allow GMOs in, because once you do there is no calling it back! I guarantee if you introduce them today they will be all over your country within four or five years!" See interview.
Consumers International warns EC on GMO contamination
Consumers International (CI) and the Government of the Italian region of Emilia - Romagna held a major international conference in Bologna, Italy on 9 September 2005, where they made an appeal to the EC for caution over contamination from genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Consumers International GM Campaign Manager David Cuming said: "Stop GMO contamination - it can happen quickly and over vast areas and is irreversible. In places, like Italy, where there are a lot of small farms with traditional and organic crops, 'co-existence' is probably impossible without removing the freedom of consumers and farmers to choose." David Cuming advised "All countries worldwide must introduce strict rules to prevent contamination, and allow for GM-free zones, before allowing GMOs in their countries. The EC must wait until they have completed the full review of "co-existence" in Europe before approving new GMO crops."
Prof. Ignacio Chapela, leading expert on GMOs told the conference "'Co-existence'" of GMOs and GM-free plants is biologically impossible. If we keep thinking like this it won't be a question of - if contamination will occur: It will be a question of when and how much? We do not have the political will, the technical capacity or the independence of thought to deal with 'co-existence'"; neither to monitor its development, nor to remedy its consequences. Proposed biosafety and bioethical frameworks will not prevent contamination." GMO and consumer experts from Canada, USA, Brazil, Thailand, Zambia, Austria, Italy and UK presented their position on "co-existence", contamination and GM-free zones at the conference in Bologna. Recent examples of GMO contamination cases are: oilseed rape fields in the USA, Canada and Australia, shipments of maize to Ireland Japan and New Zealand, and illegal rice in China. Conference proceedings will be posted at www.consumersinternational.org.
RTE ONE's Big Bite TV discussion on GMOs
Presenter David McWilliams hosted a heated panel discussion on 16 November 2005 about the GMO invasion with Michael O'Callaghan (GM-free Ireland), Lord Dick Taverne Q.C. (author "The March of Unreason"), TCD Prof. David McConnell (Co-Chair, European Action on Global Life Sciences biotech industry lobby group + Chair, Irish Times Trust), Eanna Ní Lamhna (President, An Taisce), and Marc Michell (organic farmer and restaurateur). For a heavily edited VHS copy call (01) 208 2786.
80% of callers to NewsTalk 106 FM oppose GM food in Ireland
Eighty per cent of callers to The Wide Angle international current affairs programme hosted by Karen Coleman on Sunday 5 June know that GM food is bad for your health. The live radio debate featured Michael O'Callaghan (GM-free Ireland Network), Matt Moran (Bioindustry Association), Sakiko Fukuda-Parr (Harvard University), and Raymond O'Rourke (food liability lawyer).
Most offspring died when mother rats ate
GM Soy
New scientific evidence of the health risks of eating Monsanto's Roundup Ready GM soy beans was announced by the Russian Academy of Sciences in October 2005. The astounding result may threaten the multi-billion dollar biotech industry. Irina Ermakova, a leading scientist at the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), added GM soy flour (5-7 grams) to the diet of female rats. The experimental diet began two weeks before the rats conceived and continued through pregnancy and nursing. Ermakova's first surprise came when her pregnant rats started giving birth. Some pups from GM-fed mothers were quite a bit smaller. After 2 weeks, 36% of them weighed less than 20 grams compared to about 6% from the other groups (see photo right).
But the real shock came when the rats started dying. Within three weeks, 25 of the 45 (55.6%) rats from the GM soy group died compared to only 3 of 33 (9%) from the non-GM soy group and 3 of 44 (6.8%) from the non-soy controls. On October 27, 2005, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) board passed a resolution asking the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) to sponsor an immediate, independent follow-up of the study. Dr. Jim Willoughby, the Academy's president, said, "Genetically modified soy, corn, canola (oilseed rape), and cottonseed oil are being consumed daily by a significant proportion of our population. We need rigorous, independent and long-term studies to evaluate if these foods put the population at risk." Download article.
EU ministers vote in favour of sovereign right of countries to ban GM crops
In a major step towards keeping Europe GMO-free, 22 of 25 EU member states' Environment Ministers voted to reject proposals by the European Commission to revoke the bans on specific GM maize and rapeseed crops put in place by Austria, Luxembourg, France, Greece and Germany since 1997. Ireland changed its recent policy of abstaining, when Environment Minister Dick Roche voted against the EC proposals at the Council of Ministers meeting on 24 June.
Following a GM-free Ireland Network briefing (700kb PDF file) at a parliamentary debate in Leinster House on 15 June, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Local Government gave unanimous cross-party support for the sovereign right of member states to ban specific GM products when there are questions over their safety, and urged Roche to support the existing bans. Many Senators and TD's supported the call for Ireland to remain GMO-free. Transcript of Dáil debate (500k PDF file).
Witnesses included the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Department of Agriculture & Food, the Department of Health & Children, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Friends of the Earth, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, and the GM-free Ireland Network.
Fianna Fáil deputy Michael Mulcahy said Ireland was in danger of "sullying its reputation" as a green, natural food producer if it allowed GM material in food production. "I have yet to meet a consumer who wants to eat GM food. They don't exist." Oisín Coghlan, director of Friends of the Earth Ireland, said the Commission's plans to remove the GM bans "fly in the face of European public and political opinion". He said 70 per cent of Europeans did not want to eat GM foods. John Heney, rural development chairman of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association said Irish farmers have a moral obligation to provide consumers with safe GM-free food. Chairman of the Joint Committee on Rural Affairs John Deasy said it was no "pretty clear" that committee members support the right of member states to invoke GM bans. Michael O'Callaghan of GM-free Ireland said it is time for Irish Counties to join the 162 regional governments and over 4,500 sub-regional authorities which prohibit GM crops in 22 member states (see map). He said the time has come for this Government to reverse its unpopular pro-GMO policy in the European Parliament.
The rejection of the Commission's proposals questions the credibility of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Last year the EFSA claimed the national bans had no
scientific basis - a view rejected today by member states. See Throwing Caution to the Wind: a Friends of the Earth review of the European Food Safety Authority and its work on GM foods, which is deeply critical of EFSA's pro-biotech position and close industry links.
Monsanto attempts to patent the pig
Monsanto has filed patent applications on pig breeding methods, pig herds, and their offspring - including patents on naturally-occuring genes and any pigs that contain them. This could empower Monsanto to legally prevent Irish farmers from breeding pigs whose characterisics are described in the patent claims, or force them to pay royalties. More.
If Ireland approves the patents, many Irish pigs, their offspring, and the use of the genetic information for breeding will be entirely owned by Monsanto, Inc. and any replication or infringement of their patent by man or beast will mean royalties or jail for the offending farmer. The patent applications are being filed in over 160 countries.
Dick Roche's failure to vote enables EU Commission to legalise more GM animal feed
Irish Environment Minister Dick Roche abstained from voting against approval of Monsanto's MON863 maize at the European Council of Ministers on 24 June, despite having seen Monsanto's 1,139-page secret study which found evidence of health risks. Ireland first abstained from voting against the legalisation of MON 863 in the EU at an EC Standing Committee meeting on 19 May. Roche's abstention contributed to the lack of a qualified majority vote.
This failure then enabled the Commissison to approve the importation of the controversial crop on 8 August 2005 for use as animal feed, against the wishes of the majority of EU citizens. However under EU legislation, no import of animal feed is allowed untill the food application has also been authorised. EU Ministers are scheduled to vote on this in September 2005.
In late 2004, the German government commissioned Dr Arpad Pusztai, one of the few genuinely independent scientists specialising in plant genetics and animal feeding studies, to examine Monsanto's secret study on the feeding of MON863 GM maize to laboratory rats over a 90-day period. The Pusztai report found that the Monsanto study contained evidence of "statistically significant" differences to kidney weights and certain blood parameters in the rats fed on the GM maize as compared with the control groups. A number of scientists across Europe who saw the study (and heavily-censored summaries of it) expressed concerns about the health and safety implications if MON863 should ever enter the food chain. Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini of the University of Caen, who scrutinises the safety of GM products for the European Commission and French government, describes the findings as "very worrying". But following the release of the Pusztai report and pressure by environmental groups and the European Commission, a German court ordered Monsanto to disclose the secret study to Greenpeace. On 24 May, Dr Brian John of GM-free Cymru (GM-free Wales) issued a press release stating that it would be "irresponsible and cynical in the extreme" to pass the corn for human consumption. But that's exactly what Dick Roche's failure to vote has now made possible.
IRELAND SHOULD SEND ILLEGAL GM MAIZE BACK TO SENDER IN THE USA
2,546 tonnes of prohibited Syngenta Bt10 maize unloaded at Irish port
Department of Agriculture accused of slapdash procedures and cover-up
An illegal shipment of 2,546 tonnes of genetically modified Bt10 maize was unloaded at Greenore, Co. Louth on 26 May 2005. Press release & downloads.
The Bt10 maize, manufactured by Syngenta, has been mislabelled since 2001 as a legal variety called Bt11. Bt10 maize produces its own pesticide and is prohibited world-wide because it contains an antibiotic resistance gene with threatens the health of animals and humans.
In an attempt to cover-up the scandal, the Irish Department of Agriculture and Food issued a press release which referred to the illegal Bt10 shipment as a "sample", failing to disclose the quantity of 2,546 tonnes - enough to fill over 85 lorries, and contaminate over six million cattle and sheep.
Illegal Bt10 maize being unloaded at Greenore Port, Ireland, 26 May 2005
But instead of returning the illegal cargo to the sender in the USA, Department of Agriculture officials arrived on the scene after the shipment had already been brought ashore. Eyewitnesses say it was improperly unloaded through the same equipment, vehicles and storage facilities used for other animal feed, which may thus be cross-contaminated. Dr. Pat O'Mahony of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland said "there's no danger that we can see, it's just illegal that's all". Although substantial spillage of the dangerous animal feed has likely been consumed by rats, mice, seagulls, migratory birds and fish, the Environmental Protection Agency said animal feed is not their responsibility.
In a letter responding to Green Party leader Trevor Sargent's questions in the Dáil, Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan stated on 24 June: "Responsibility for disposal of this material rests with the importer. The importer has been requested to submit proposals for disposal of the material and has responded saying that they are currently exploring three options, viz incineration abroad; return to country of origin or possible composting within Ireland, the latter which would require the consent of the EPA." Download letter (376k PDF file).
The illegal cargo was imported by Arkady Feed Ltd in Dublin, aboard the Helena Oldendorff, a bulk carrier (managed by Oldendorff Carriers of Lübeck and chartered by Alfred Toeper of Hamburg, Germany) sailing under a Liberian flag.
This is the first known case of the banned biotech maize arriving in the EU since emergency measures were recently adopted by the EC to prevent Bt10 seeping through European borders. The fact that so many tonnes arrived in a single shipment long after the EU required the USA to terminate the practice, raises the question of how many hundred thousand tonnes of mislabelled Bt10 GM feed may have been fraudulently sold to Irish cattle and sheep farmers - and consumed by Irish livestock and people - over the past 4 years or more.
Nobody knows how much Irish dairy, beef and lamb produce contaminated by Bt10 has been consumed, or exported under Ireland's clean green food island image since 2001. Press release
Meanwhile, seven more shipments amounting to 20,812 tonnes of Syngenta's illegal Bt10 animal feed have since been discovered in six Japanese ports - the first at Nagoya (Aichi) on 26 May and the most recent at Hakata (Fukukoka) on 15 July. Trade sources said these are likely to be sent back to the USA at Syngenta's expense. The Japanese government has a zero tolerance rule on imports of biotech crops for human consumption. However, it will allow imports of feed grains for livestock that contain less than 1 percent of a biotech variety that has been approved by other countries that conduct safety checks of gene-spliced crops. Already, one Japanese importing firm has inked a deal to buy 100,000 metric tonnes of GM-free South African corn in an effort to bypass problems with Bt10.
The twist in this story is worthy of a surrealist Kafka play: in a retroactive effort to re-define what is illegal as legal, Syngenta announced on 7 June it would ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the probhibited Bt10 maize for commercialisation "to reassure Tokyo that the variety is safe!" Despite trying to get other countries to accept Bt10, however, Syngenta said it has no current plans to market the product to US farmers.
One thousand GMO-Free Zones were declared throughout the island of Ireland on 22 April 2005, by farmers, food producers, hotels, restaurants, markets, pubs, retailers, and homes North and South of the border, as part of the world-wide Earth Day 2005 celebration.
These sites require legal protection from contamination by genetically modified (GM) seeds, crops, trees, livestock and fish.
Hundreds of participants placed GMO-FREE ZONE signs outside their place of business. This marks a first step in protecting the right of Irish farmers and consumers to choose safe GMO-free food and farming. (More)
The GM-free Ireland map displays the location of 1,000 conventional and organic farms, Counties, towns, SACs, Europa 2000 sites and other protected areas, which require legal protection from GMO contamination. Enlarged sections of the map provide detailed views of GMO-free zones in every county North and South of the border. Analysis of the density of site locations makes it undisputably clear that the island of Ireland is too small for any so-called "co-existence" of GMO crops with conventional and farming... (continues)
The first edition of this map was published on 22 April, Earth Day 2005, and will be updated as more Counties, local authorities and farms declare themselves GMO-free.
Farmers, landowners, producers and retailers of animal feed and food who wish to declare their premises off-limits to GMO food and crops are invited to add their area, farm, hotel, restaurant, B&B, pub or retail outlet to the map with a clickable link for consumers looking for safe GM-free food and animal feed to learn about your produce & services and contact you directly. Registration form.
Europe's Regions demand "power-sharing" over GMO crop decisions
Safeguarding Sustainable European Agriculture: Coexistence, GMO free zones and the promotion of quality food produce in Europe was the theme of the EU Parliament conference on 17 May 2005. European regions reiterated their demand to be included in any decisions over the commercial cultivation of GMO crops in order to enhance and promote quality agriculture and food products. The conference was organised by The Assembly of European Regions (AER) and Friends of the Earth Europe (FOEE). See press release.
food security in an energy-scarce world: conference at UCD 22 - 25 June 2005
The topic of GM crops will be among the items on the agenda of this international conference on the future of food, organised by FEASTA - Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability. Speakers include Richard Douthwaite, John Feehan, Richard Heinberg, Dr. Mae-Wan Ho, David Holmgren, Helena Norberg Hodge, Jules Pretty, Wayne Roberts, Colin Sage and Lori Stahlbrand. For details visit www.feasta.org/food.
GM maize conspiracy revealed
A GM watchdog group in Wales has revealed the full extent
of a conspiracy by UK and EC officials which has, against the public
interest, enabled a highly damaging study on the safety of GM maize to
be held on a secret dossier and which has gagged scientists who have
seen it. The study, into the effects of feeding rats for 90 days on Monsanto's
MON863 maize, was requested by various EU countries as part of the
MON863 assessment process, and was completed in September 2003. The
results showed "statistically significant" changes to blood and to
certain vital organs in the rats fed on the GM maize, as compared with
those in the control group, and immediately alarm bells started to ring
in scientific circles throughout Europe. The revelation was made on 24 May 2005. See
press release.
Prime Time's investigation of GMO controversy • RTE 1
Prime Time's 31 March 2005 broadcast Included a debate with Jeffrey M. Smith (author of Seeds of Deception: exposing corporate and government lies about the safety of genetically engineered food,); Simon Barber (Director of Biotechnology, EuropaBio); Prof. David McConnell, Smurfit Institute of Genetics, TCD; Co-chair EAGLES - European Action on Global Life Sciences; Chair, Irish Times Trust); and Michael O'Callaghan, Co-ordinator, GM-free Ireland Network. Watch the show with RealPlayer at http://dynamic.rte.ie/av/2035420.smil
Consumers International says NO to GMOs
Consumer organisations around the world called for a ban on GM foods on 15 March, World Consumer Rights Day 2005. The event was organised by Consumers International, representing over 250 organisations in 115 countries (including the Consumers' Association of Ireland). Member organisations lobbied governments, held public meetings and street demonstrations to demand GM-free food and secure GM-free areas with strict rules to prevent contamination of conventional and organic crops, and independent safety testing and safety guidelines for all foods containing or derived from GMOs.
www.consumersinternational.org.
no market for GM labelled food in Europe
In January 2005, Greenpeace published a detailed report showing that the EU market
for GM labelled food products is virtually closed. Europe's top 30 retailers and top 30 food & drink producers have policies and non-GM commitments which reveal a massive international food industry rejection of GM ingredients. This cuts across the industry from food and drink manufacturers to retailers, and includes everything from snacks and ready meals to pet food and beer. The combined total food and drink sales of the 49 companies with a stated non-GM policy in their main market or throughout the EU (27 retailers and 22 food and drink producers) amounts to € 646 billion, more than 60% of the total € 1,069 billion European food and drink sales. Irish food companies doing business internationally need to implement a non-GM policy without delay. Download report (2MB PDF file).
Ireland's role as biotech stooge
In 1997, Fianna Fail issued a policy statement promising never to allow GMO crops in Ireland. But following a White House luncheon with US National Security Adviser Sandy Berger on St. Patrick's Day 1998, Bertie Ahern has actively supported the biotech industry's efforts to force GM food and crops into Europe. Ireland has never voted against legalising GM crops in the European Parliament against the wishes of 70% of consumers and the majority of Member States.
Just before leaving office in late 2005, EU President Pat Cox and EU Healh and Consumer Affairs Commissioner David Byrne ended the de facto moratorium on GM crops by legalising 17 varieties of Monsanto GM maize, to the great annoyance of other EU governments.
In 2002, EU Joint Research Centre CEO Dr. Barry McSweeney attempted to suppress the publication of the EC's official Scenarios for Co-existence report
on the feasibility of introducing GM crops in EU member states.
The report concluded that GM crops inevitably contaminate conventional and organic crops and may cause 40% higher production costs for EU farmers. McSweeney wrote to the EC recommending that the report should not be made public, stating "given the sensitivity of the issue, I would suggest that the report be kept for internal use within the Commission only.." (see related press releases). McSweeney's ties to the biotech industry include being a former Director of BioResearch Ireland and Biocon Biochemicals. In 2004, Tánaiste Mary Harney appointed him to the new post of Chief Scientific Officer of Ireland. In October 2005 it emerged that McSweeney bought his PhD from the so-called Pacific Western University, an online institution which US authorities describe as a diploma mill.
Food Safety Authority of Ireland CEO Dr. John O'Brien is a former Director of the International Life Sciences Institute, a Washington-based biotech & tobacco industry front group which infiltrated scientific commitees of the World Health Organisation and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in order to downgrade tobacco health warnings and downplay the evidence that high levels of sugar in junk foods cause childhood obesity and diabetes.
Monsanto Ireland managing director Dr. Patrick O'Reilly told the Royal Irish Academy that it doesn't matter that GM crops would inevitably contaminate Irish farmers and put organic farmers out of business.
NATIONAL STRATEGY ON "CO-EXISTENCE" OF GMO CROPS
The Dept. of Agriculture's rushed consultation process excludes 86% of the stakeholders, and fails to comply with EC legal requirements for public participation.
Why does the Irish Times repeatedly deny the evidence of GM health and environmental risks? Irish Times Trust chairman and TCD Genetics professor David McConnell is Co-chair of EAGLES (European Action on Global Life Sciences, an agri-biotech lobby group. Despite opposition by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland has authorised the sale of GM animal feed and food. The Department of Trade and Enterprise has authorised 82 GMO patents. The Department of Agriculture's consultation procedure for a National Strategy on the "co-existence" of GMO crops excludes 80% of the stakeholders and fails to comply with the Aarhus Convention laws on public participation.
This government's fundamentalist pro-GM role as biotech industry stooge will condemn future generations to a perpetual biological colonialism with no possibility of liberation. The only way to prevent this government-led disaster is to deal with it now before it happens.
securing a competitive advantage for Ireland's farm and food sector
Keeping the whole island of Ireland free of genetically modified (GM) animal feed, seeds, trees, crops, livestock, fish and food will safeguard our farming future, increase our farm and food revenues, enhance our green image as "Ireland - the food island", boost our eco-tourist industry, and protect our national food security, environment, health, freedom of choice, and future generations. It's a prerequisite for Ireland's transition to sustainability.
Across Europe, governments, regions, local authorities, cities, farmers, major food brands and food retailers, and leading hotels and restaurants have banned GM food and crops amid growing scientific evidence of health and environmental problems, crop failures, GM contamination, biotech industry lies, bribery scandals, government cover-ups, the lack of any long-term health studies, insurance companies' refusal to cover disaster risks, product recalls, massive lawsuits, and widespread rejection by food brands, retailers and consumers.
The global demand for GM-free animal feed, seeds and food is now starting to outstrip available supplies due to growing GM contamination of farmland in the USA, Argentina, Canada, China and other countries. This gives Ireland an opportunity to leverage our clean green image and corner our share of the growing market for the safe GM-free food which 70% of EU consumers now demand.
But instead of seizing this competitive advantage, the Irish Government used its 2004 EU Presidency to collaborate with the USA- and UK-backed WTO effort to legalise patented GM crops and food in Europe (see Ireland's role as biotech stooge above).
If GMO animal feed, seeds or crops are legalised on this island, the decision will be irreversible as GMOs can never be recalled after their release.
The resulting contamination of conventional and organic crops and livestock would destroy Ireland's green image, restrict food exports, reduce farm incomes, threaten wildlife and human health, and rob consumers of our right to choose safe food.
Farmers would have to pay annual licensing fees for the patented GMO crops. They would lose the right to save and plant their own seeds - and face additional burdens of contamination, superweeds, bureaucracy, labelling, traceability, liability issues, and patent infringement lawsuits with no insurance available to cover the risks. The UK-Irish government-backed invasion of GMO crops is the biggest food security threat in the history of this island.
Since our governments are failing to protect the security of their citizens, stakeholders North and South of the border are taking responsibility to forge a democratic GM-free Ireland policy that is good for farmers, businesses, consumers and the environment.
About the GM-free Ireland Network
The GM-free Ireland Network (GMFI) was launched at the Forging a GM Policy for Ireland workshop in 2004. Our knowledge of the agricultural, economic, health, environmental, political, and security aspects of GMOs is informed by the expertise of our international partners, our member organisations, and by leading scientists, farming bodies, consumer groups, government agencies, NGOs and politicians around the world.
GMFI provides European, Irish national and local government policy briefings and consultations on GM issues, represents Irish farm and food groups in European conferences, engages in stakeholder consultations on the so-called co-existence of GMO crops with conventional and organic farming, and maintains a map registry of farms and other areas which require legal protection from GM contamination. We are preparing a video / DVD / information pack for stakeholders, and provide GMO-free zone signs and Keep Ireland GMO free signs for local authorities, farmers, food producers, restaurants, hotels, B&Bs, schools, and retailers who wish to remain GMO-free. We can provide broadcast quality
video in
