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ABOUT THE GM-FREE IRELAND NETWORK | ||
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1 |
to promote awareness of the political, economic, environmental, health and food security benefits of keeping the whole island of Ireland free of GM food, animal feed, seeds, crops, trees, insects, crustaceans, fish and livestock; (we have no position on the contained use of GM bacteria for the production of medicines and enzymes in sealed vats in secure laboratories, provided there is no risk of environmental release);
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to ensure that our government's GM policy making process fully complies with the legal obligations for stakeholder consultation and participatory democracy required by the Biosafety Protocol to the Convention of Biodiversity, the Aarhus Convention and relevant EU Directives and international laws.
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to protect our agricultural seeds from contamination by GMO varieties;
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4 |
to prevent the further patenting of genetic resources for food and farm crops;
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to help stakeholders and government forge a democratic win-win GM-free Ireland policy that is good for Irish business, farmers, consumers, the environment and future generations;
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to map the location of farms and other areas North and South of the border whose biodiversity requires legal protection from GM contamination – and which are, can or should be designated as local GM-free zones under EU Directives and other national and international laws (see map).
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to support the setting up of local GM-free zones (e.g. counties, local authorities, towns, national parks, conventional and organic farms, and designated biological and ecological sites);
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to declare the whole island of Ireland a GM-free biosafety reserve for the security of other EU states;
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to assist farmers, food companies, retailers, hotels, restaurants, universities, schools, and other organisations which want to remain GM-free;
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to support the Assembly of European Regions (AER) / Friends of the Earth campaign to strengthen the legal recognition of GMO-free zones and regions in EC law.
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to collaborate on related policies with the following organisations: Assembly of European Regions, Centre for Food Safety, Consumers International, European Network of GMO-free Regions, Foundation for Future Farming, European Network on Genetic Engineering, Euro-Toques International, Friends of the Earth International, Greenpeace International, Independent Science Panel on GM, Institute for Science in Society, Institute for Responsible Technology, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, International Society for Ecology and Culture, IUCN - World Conservation Union, Save our Seeds, Slow Food International, Third World Network, Union of Concerned Scientists, and the World Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture;
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