UK: Environment Minister on GM food and organic garden

At a meeting, representatives of organic businesses, the Organic Trade Board and the Soil Association told Hilary Benn that the UK government should stop voting a consistently pro-GM ticket in the European Union. The organic companies told Hilary Benn that the UK government should support the strong GM free position adopted by the Scottish and Welsh governments in particular the proposal by the Welsh Assembly Government to make GM companies liable for any damage their GM crops cause. The organic businesses said that it was outrageous that GM crops had been introduced without any proper research into their health impacts.

Hilary Benn agreed that claiming there was “no evidence that they are not safe”, as he did in the meeting, is not the same as saying that there was evidence that GM crops were safe. He was urged to support more long term research into the health effects of GM food as the Austrian Government had done recently, resulting in research that led the scientists in charge to express concern and call for more research into the safety of GM food.
 

The secretary of state emphasised his commitment to supporting organic food, and acknowledged the benefits of organic farming and food in terms of reducing GHG emissions and said that all of us would have to eat more seasonal food; he wanted to see more people growing their own food. In response the organic companies asked him to follow the lead set by Michelle Obama, who has set up an organic vegetable garden in the grounds of the White house. Hilary Benn then agreed to pass on a request to Gordon Brown to start to grow some organic fruit and vegetables in the garden of 10 Downing Street. Hilary Benn agreed to a further meeting to discuss the possible contribution that organic food and farming will increasingly play in future.

www.soilassociation.org