GM Freeze has emailed the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs Daniel Zeichner (1 Oct 2024) urging him to act with caution in relation to new forms of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Laws have been announced that look set to remove controls over a subset of GMOs that are dubbed ‘precision bred’ by the British government.
In a parliamentary briefing, GM Freeze has provided a set of recommendations for how new GMOs can be regulated responsibly. These include labelling, traceability and environmental and health-related risk assessments. The briefing is supported by a range of civil society organisations, including the Civil Society Alliance, Compassion in World Farming, the Landworkers’ Alliance and the Soil Association.
The government has said that it will simplify the authorisation process so that precision bred plants will be “rolled out across the country”. But in a new report, GM Freeze warns of the associated risks, including the fact that all British agricultural producers could suffer losses as a result of trade barriers.
GM Freeze’s Leonie Nimmo said:
“Since Labour came to power it has been under intense pressure from the pro-biotech lobby to press ahead with the Conservative’s plans for the removal of protections in relation to new GMOs. This seems to have been working as the fantastic promises the government is making about the benefits of so-called precision bred crops could have been cut and pasted straight from a biotech brochure.
“However, the problems we need to address as a country – including climate change, food security and over-reliance on chemicals for agriculture – are complex, systemic and won’t be fixed by twiddling with genes. This type of science won’t save us.”
Organic Farmers and Growers’ Steven Jacobs said:
“It is critical for all non-GM supply chains, including organic, that the government legislate for co-existence measures. Unlabelled and untraceable new GMOs in our food and farming systems could threaten our ability to fulfil a legal duty to maintain separate supply chains. Government agencies have a duty of care to safeguard the integrity of food systems across the UK.”
The Civil Society Alliances’ Rosalind Stevens said:
“Rowing back on GMO protections without consultation or Parliamentary scrutiny would undermine the ability of devolved nations to determine their own standards in relation to new forms of genetic modification. This would be a missed opportunity to reset relations between the UK and devolved governments.”
The Soil Association’s Lucia Monje-Jelfs said:
“The briefing produced by GM Freeze provides a comprehensive set of recommendations that will ensure risks are appropriately addressed and consumers can maintain freedom of choice. The government must not ignore the public on these critical issues.”
