UK: O.T.G. responds to Defra consultation

The Organic Trade Group (OTG), a membership based organisation representing organic business in the UK, are encouraged that a significant majority of the 11,700 responses to Defra's proposals to control the contamination of GM crops have opposed them, according to a summary of the results of the consultation recently published by Defra.

This confirms that British consumers are extremely concerned at the apparent threat to organic food production imposed by the prospect of GM crops being permitted into the UK. Organic processors and brand-holders are equally worried about the potential implications. The OTG believes that the use of GM ingredients is rightly prohibited in organic food and farming practices.

British consumers overwhelmingly rejected GM during the far-reaching ‘Organic Nation’ consultation in 2003. Only 2% of the public said they were happy to eat GM food. Against this background, DEFRA (in its GM co-existence proposals) has made a draft proposal to allow up to 0.9% of “accidental” GM contamination in British produced organic food. The OTG, along with the Soil Association and a number of other leading environmental and consumer organisations, oppose this proposal because they strongly believe that there should be no GM in organic food. The existing 0.1% limit should remain as the maximum allowable contamination.

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