Maize crop grown for cattle fodder in Somerset

The European Union has today (Friday 15th April) decided to prohibit all imports of US maize gluten feed which cannot be guaranteed free of Bt10, an illegal GM maize variety that has recently contaminated US farms and been imported into the EU. This decision is likely to mean a de facto ban on all US maize imports, since the GM company Syngenta, which produced Bt10 maize, has been unable to provide a method to detect for its presence.

Greenpeace warned that without more coherent action by EU governments Europe will remain exposed to high-risk imports of illegal GMOs, in wheat, rice, soybeans and rape seed, as well as maize.

Greenpeace GM Campaigner Ben Ayliffe said: "There's no point the EU having rules on importing GM crops if companies like Syngenta or the US government can flout them whenever they choose, so it's about time the EU blocked US maize that could be contaminated with Bt10. This whole affair has not only shown just how uncontrollable GM crops are, but also how lax the current GM controls are on both sides of the Atlantic. Bt10 maize is illegal and untested, but was still imported here for years without anyone knowing."

This GM contamination case is not the first of its kind, and without stronger action by the EU and member states it might not be the last. Just days ago, Greenpeace revealed that batches of rice in China had been contaminated with an illegal and completely untested strain of GM rice. China exported more than 15,000 tonnes of rice to the EU in 2003.

Ben Ayliffe added: "Bt10 shows that the GM industry is out of control. The EU needs to smarten up its act to protect consumers and the environment, but there are also worrying signs that here in the UK, authorities have done nothing to stop the import of this illegal GM maize."

Further information
Contact the Greenpeace Press Office on 020 7865 8255 or Ben Ayliffe on 020 7865 8282.

Find out more on the Bt10 incident.

 

GM activists boarding the MV Etoile

A South Wales magistrates court today ruled that 13 Greenpeace volunteers who stopped a shipment of GM crops from entering in the UK do not have to face charges under the Merchant Shipping Act.

The charges alleged that the Greenpeace volunteers endangered the safety of the MV Etoile when they stopped it docking at Bristol to unload a cargo of GM crops. However, the judge decided that there was not enough evidence for a crown jury to consider the charge.

Greenpeace Campaigner Sarah North said: "We are delighted that these charges have been dropped. Greenpeace has a long history of undertaking peaceful direct actions of this nature and safety is always of paramount importance. These volunteers took non-violent direct action to prevent a cargo of GM being smuggled into our food against the wishes of the UK public. The support we've had from locals has been huge. We're very grateful."

Although some charges were dropped today, the 13 defendants must still stand trial for allegedly causing a public nuisance. Judges today bailed the defendants to appear at the Cardiff Crown Court at a later date.

The MV Etoile, a 125,000 tonne, Panamanian-registered ship, was carrying thousands of tonnes of GM maize derivative into Bristol from the USA. The ship went to anchor in the Bristol Channel off Rhoose Point, South Wales, and was prevented from docking for 36 hours after Greenpeace climbers attached themselves to the sides of the vessel and asked the captain to turn the ship around and return its GM cargo to the US.

The chances are that this imported feed will not be labelled as GM, even though new EU labelling legislation came into force in April.

The GM maize derivative was destined for dairy farms that supply milk to Britain's biggest supermarkets. Despite promising to remove GM-fed products from their lines Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda and Safeway all sell own-brand milk from cows fed on American GM crops.

Further information
For more information call the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255

Greenpeace has today released a report by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that recommends Mexico takes drastic steps to stop contamination from genetically modified (GM) maize. Mexico is the home of all maize varieties and the report recommends that the country keeps its moratorium on planting GM maize to protect its biodiversity. It also demands that any maize imported into Mexico from the USA be milled on entry to stop it from growing accidentally.

The report, written by experts on the NAFTA Commission for Environmental Co-operation (CEC), unanimously recommends that "all the maize imported to Mexico from Canada and the United States, that is not certified as GM-free, should be sent directly and without exception to mills for processing." In 2003, Mexico imported over 5.5 million tonnes of US maize, at least 30% of which was estimated to be GM. The US government has deliberately stalled on publishing this report since June and its findings will help bolster the European Union's case in the on-going World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute with the USA, Canada and Argentina over GM crops.

Greenpeace Campaigner Ben Ayliffe said:

"When an free-trade organisation like NAFTA starts raising concerns about GM crops, it ought to set some alarm bells ringing. It's like McDonalds saying burgers and chips aren't very good for you."

In 2003 the USA, Canada and Argentina, the world's primary exporters of GM crops, launched a complaint with the WTO against the EU for its de facto moratorium on new GM approvals. Europe's defence of its position has been based in part on scientific uncertainty regarding the environmental and human health impacts of GM crops. The NAFTA report shows that the EU is right to highlight scientific uncertainties and defend the precautionary principle on GM.

Ben Ayliffe added:

"This report recognises the environmental risks GM maize poses and could be hugely damaging for the USA's WTO case against the EU. No wonder they tried to bury it."

In addition, the leaked report may hamper the USA's efforts to force GM maize on to some countries as food aid. African countries such as Zambia rejected US GM maize unless it was milled because of the risks it could pose to their environment. The report clearly supports this demand and recommends milling of maize to reduce environmental risks.

For more information contact Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255 or Ben Ayliffe on 0207 865 8282

 

GM corn

Greenpeace today accused the world's governments of failing to fulfil their commitment to reduce world hunger (1) while ignoring the methods of agriculture that are environmentally sound and proven. Nutritious, high-yielding crops are already being grown. It is the commercial power and political influence of the chemical companies promoting GM farming that prevent proper investment in these real solutions.

A study, commissioned by Greenpeace, Bread for the World, and the British Government's Department for International Development (DfID) found 208 examples of sustainable agricultural projects at work in 52 developing countries (2).

This study was presented on the eve of an international conference "Sustainable Food Security for All by 2020" organised by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) this week in Bonn (3). The projects in the study show how hunger and poverty can be overcome by sustainable agriculture.

"Governments have lost sight of genuinely sustainable farming. The real solutions are out there, but lack funding and support. It is in the interest of the GM industry to keep it that way. If the level of investment that we see for GM today was made available to proven sustainable methods of production and researching alternatives it would go a long way to solve problems of agriculture in developing countries,"
said Charlie Kronick, GM Campaigner for Greenpeace.

Greenpeace called on the world governments to take their commitment to achieve food security for all seriously and reverse the current trend of declining assistance to developing countries (4). The organisation demanded independent public research and promotion of sustainable agricultural models - especially those addressing the needs of small-scale farmers who will suffer the most if the sell-out to GM industry continues.

"Sustainable agriculture is not a luxury but a necessity. It provides the most effective means to combat hunger. We should solve problems, not create new ones. GM puts people and their environment at further risk in countries that do not have the capacity to deal with the problems that GM may bring,"
Charlie Kronick added.

Editors notes:
(1) Representatives of 186 countries met in Rome in November 1996, committed themselves to the time-bound, monitorable, yet modest goal of halving hunger until 2015: "We pledge our political will and our common and national commitment to achieving food security for all and to an ongoing effort to eradicate hunger in all countries, with an immediate view to reducing the number of undernourished people to half their present level no later than 2015."

(2) The study " Reducing Food Poverty with Sustainable Agriculture: A Summary of New Evidence" by Jules Pretty and Rachel Hine.

(3) The international conference on "Sustainable Food Security for All by 2020", organised by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in close collaboration with the German government and several other organisations from civil society and the private and public sectors takes place in Bonn on September 4- 6, 2001. The conference will address the emerging concerns how to fulfil the goal declared by the World Food Summit in 1996.

(4) Official Development Assistance has decreased during the 1990 from 0.33% to 0.25% of the Gross National Product of OECD Countries, to the detriment of the majority of the developing countries, especially the least developed countries in Africa which receive almost no private inflows.

Further information:
Contact:
Greenpeace press office on 0207 865 8255