Guest guest Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 > GMW:_GM_OPPOSITION_GROWS > " GM_WATCH " <info > Thu, 2 Sep 2004 10:57:40 +0100 > > GM WATCH daily > http://www.gmwatch.org > --- > Public opposition to GM crops has hardened during > the past two years > > 1. Worried consumers 'shun GM foods' - BBC > 2. Concern at GM crops increases - Guardian > 3. FoE - GM OPPOSITION GROWS - NEW SURVEY > --- > 1.Worried consumers 'shun GM foods' > BBC News Wednesday, 1 September, 2004 > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3618386.stm > > Britons are increasingly worried about genetically > modified foods, a survey by consumer magazine Which? > suggests. > > Of the 1,000 people polled, 61% said they were > concerned about the use of GM material in food > production. > > The poll also suggested more consumers are trying > not to buy GM food, while fewer back GM crops in the > UK. > > Earlier this year, the government gave the go-ahead > to the commercial growing of a variety of GM maize, > but banned two more varieties of crops. > > According to the poll, the number of people who are > wary of GM foods and try to avoid them has gone up > from 45% in 2002 to 58%. > > " Consumers clearly don't want GM food and are > hardening their stance against it, " said the editor > of Which?, Malcolm Coles. > > " It's hardly surprising when questions still remain > about the risks for health and the environment, " he > added. > > He went on to say that the government had ignored > the public's concerns for long enough and needed " to > rethink its policy before going ahead with growing > GM crops commercially " . > > Ingredients removed > > Fewer people are happy with having GM crops in the > UK - only one in four Britons compared to one in > three two years ago. > > Finally, the number of those satisfied with > manufacturers removing GM ingredients from their > products has gone up 5%, from 28% to 32%. > > Environmentalist group Friends of the Earth welcomed > the survey. > > Clare Oxborrow, the group's GM campaigner, said: > " Public opposition to GM food and crops is growing, > yet the government is planning to allow widespread > GM contamination of non-GM crops. > > " The government must listen to the public and > introduce tough new rules to keep our food, farming > and environment GM-free. " > > GM maize > > In March this year, Environment Secretary Margaret > Beckett gave the green light to cultivation of > herbicide-tolerant maize for animal feed. > > She rejected GM beet and oilseed rape, which had > been recently tested in so-called farm-scale > evaluations. > > But environmental activists and farmers' groups this > summer staged several protests at Sainsbury's depots > and supermarkets. > > They accuse the chain of producing and selling milk > and dairy products from cows fed on imported GM > feed. > > But Sainsbury's replied there was " no evidence " that > milk from animals fed on such crops contained any GM > material. > --- > 2.Concern at GM crops increases > Felicity Lawrence > The Guardian, September 2, 2004 > http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1295214,00.html > > Six out of 10 Britons now say they are concerned at > use of genetic modification in food production and > want to avoid GM foods, but most already > eat them without realising. > > The hardening of attitudes emerges in a survey by > the Consumers' Association, published today, which > finds more respondents say they are against GM crops > than a similar representative sample of around 1,000 > questioned two years ago. Only a quarter say they > favour GM crops being grown in the UK, compared with > almost a third in 2002. > > Six out of 10 respondents also fear they are eating > GM foods unknowingly, and, according to the Food > Standards Agency, they are probably right. If you > eat any processed foods, you are likely to be > consuming GM material. > > Foods may contain 0.9% of GM material without being > labelled as GM. The leeway is granted because it is > difficult to segregate GM and conventional crops, > and GM soya and maize grown in America are likely to > have contaminated non-GM > crops. Soya and maize are found in the majority of > processed foods. > --- > 3.Friends of the Earth, Sep 2 > GM OPPOSITION GROWS - NEW SURVEY > http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/gm_opposition_grows_new_su_01092004\ ..html > > Friends of the Earth has welcomed a new survey > published today which shows that public opposition > to GM food and crops has grown since 2002. The mood > contrasts sharply with UK Government views, with > Ministers currently considering plans to allow > widespread GM contamination of non-GM crops. > > The UK Government is currently consulting on plans > to allow significant levels of GM contamination of > non-GM crops. The consultation on 'coexistence' > (between conventional and GM crops), is the latest > stage in a process that would allow GM crops to be > commercially grown in the UK. Despite consumer > opposition to GM, the Government has refused to > broaden the consultation to look at what measures > (such as separation distances) would be needed to > ensure that crops and food are kept completely GM > free [2]. > > Friends of the Earth's GM Campaigner, Clare Oxborrow > said > > " Public opposition to GM food and crops is growing, > yet the Government is planning to allow widespread > GM contamination of non-GM crops. If this > happens people will find it increasingly difficult > to avoid GM food. The Government must listen to the > public and introduce tough new rules to keep > our food, farming and environment GM-free. " > > [2] The Government coexistence consultation aims to > put in place measures to allow GM crops to " coexist " > with conventional crops. The measures will be > designed to allow GM contamination up to the level > set out in the EU labelling threshold of 0.9 per > cent. Friends of the Earth believes that much > stricter measures should be put in place to protect > farmer and consumer choice that aim to eliminate GM > contamination to lowest detectable levels, > currently agreed to be 0.1per cent. > > DEFRA information on the consultation: > http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2004/040716a.htm > http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/gm/crops/index.htm#Coexistence > > > > > http://www.gmwatch.org > > --------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.