The UK Government has confirmed that it will support Monsanto in a European court case brought by European civil society groups. In a written Parliamentary Answer today, Earl Howe stated that the Government will intervene in the European Court of Justice to support the biotechnology giant, which wishes to import a GMO soy variety called Intacta into the EU for food and feed uses.
Civil society groups (including ENSSER, Testbiotech, the Foundation on Future Farming, and the German Family Farmers Association) filed a lawsuit in March 2013, claiming that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) had recommended approval for the “stacked” GMO variety without carrying out proper risk assessments as required by law.
The variety is a complex one, containing traits for producing its own toxins and also providing resistance the Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. However, in spite of Intacta’s potential for introducing novel proteins and unique toxic effects into the animal and human food supply, EFSA did not insist on any safety or animal feeding studies prior to approval, so its real health effects are completely unknown.
Ecological organizations are also deeply concerned about the new GMO soy, because of its potential for inflicting considerable damage in sensitive ecosystems.
Speaking on behalf of GM-Free Cymru, Dr Brian John said: “This decision marks the end of the UK Government’s neutral stance on GMOs, which has been maintained for more than 20 years by previous governments. We know that Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has been conducting a one-man campaign of disinformation on GMOs for many months now, flagging up the Government’s support for the biotechnology industry and its complete disregard for the Precautionary Principle. But this is the first time it has got into bed with Monsanto, and has signaled its intent to side with the least-trusted corporation on the planet in a court case brought by citizens’ groups. It is the only member state to have done this — all of the others have decided to keep their distance, for obvious reasons.
“So the Government is going to waste taxpayers money to participate in a court case in support of a hated industrial giant, arguing for the import of a GMO variety that nobody wants and nobody needs. There is great public antipathy towards GMOs in this country, and the Government knows it. We are sure it is also acting against the interests of the devolved administrations of Scotland, Ireland and Wales, all of whom have a much more measured and cautious approach to GMO matters. Finally, and perhaps most outrageously of all, Earl Howe pretends in his Parliamentary Answer that the Government has “a strong interest in the science-based system” when its real objective is to break down the system of science-based GMO assessments and to open the floodgates to untested and dangerous GMO products from the United States in particular.”
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None of the awakened among us will be surprised, Cameron & Co. will gladly sell anything, including the safety of the public, to the corporate machine. Rich folks don’t eat GM foods, only the finest and freshest. It doesn’t affect them, so it matters not. Long live the Revolution!
How can the wealthy avoid GMO foods? It isn’t labelled, and in North America, they say that ~70% of our food is GMO….
And aren’t you Brits eating animals that are fed GMO feed?
And doesn’t Organic food include GMO because it often doesn’t use chemicals?
How can the wealthy tell the difference better that us little guys?
We’re all in it together & we’re all doomed.
If there weren’t already a number of reasons to oust the condems from government already then this is truly the straw to break the camels back. Monsanto, the makers of agent orange and the evil pesticide roundup and also the suppliers of the killer sweetener aspartame need to be stopped before they not only destroy our foodchain but also the very ground that the crops are grown in! Just look at how many poor farmers in India who’s land was made barren after one season of Monsanto’s crops and in utter despair many of them doused themselves in the evil pesticides and commited suicide by setting fire to themselves. This is what our country supports is it?
Roundup is not a pesticide – be factual and accurate please.
It is you who is misinformed. As someone with almost 30 years experience in the field, I can tell you that Round-Up is most certainly a pesticide. All insecticides and herbicides are classified as pesticides.
While technically correct, it is a herbicide, it also kills the bacteria in the soil which fixes the nutrients to the plants.
Glyphosate also kills the bacteria in your gut causing all sorts of havoc for you in the shape of auto-immune and inflammatory conditions.
Nice how the “rulers” don’t want to eat it and get Non-GMO food for their parliamentary restaurant but are willing to let everyone else eat it.
Of course they are supporting Monsanto – they are bought and paid for! Disgusting tribe of liars.
I believe it is Owen Patersons brother in law who owns a great deal of land he wishes to grow GM crops on. Not too suspicious then. I daresay the government will then offer huge subsidies to farmers to grow this toxic waste. So this is how it is so far:- The government wishes much of our green land to be used as frack sites, rendering this land useless to farming, (well useless for anything much). They will then announce that with a growing population we need more crops, (whilst they have lessened our potential agricultural land with development and frack sites). So the only way to produce more of a crop on a dwindling green area, (caused by tories), is too make the losses of the crops less, a larger overall yield. How is this achieved? Bring in the GM’s, and ignore the fact these ‘larger yields are full of chemicals harmful to humans’.
It kind of reminds me of Pandoras box,Once you open it you cannot put it back in there.
Owen Paterson is a completely out of control mad man. He must be stopped before he does us any more harm. He is the Environment Minister, surely an Environment Minister should be fighting tooth and nail to help our environment. Why can’t we sack him and appoint someone who has empathy with the environment, instead of this greedy, selfish man, who has hidden agendas for everything he does, so corrupt, how does he get away with it?
“We are sure it is also acting against the interests of the devolved administrations of Scotland, Ireland and Wales … ” should read “Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales”.
Ireland is a separate sovereign country.
YES, PANDORAS BOX! WHAT CAN PUT AN END TO THIS CONSTANT STREAM OF COMPLACENT, SELF INTERESTED, LYING NONSENSE. HOW DO WE STOP THEM?
Resisting Rat-race reproduction in all its forms IS my middle name.
It makes one wonder whether the conspiracy theorists are correct that the real agenda is depopulation. The ordinary populace is assaulted on all fronts by pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, nanno-particles,vaccines, additives in their food, water, and cosmeticsetc. whilst the top 1% utilise only the best organic produce. Someone should look in their kitchens and bathrooms for proof of that and expose them.
Conflicts of interest whould immediately rule them out of office.
Zac Goldsmith asked some Parliamentary questions recently about GM crops, and the answers revealed that the UK has done NO research on the extremely likely development of herbicide resistant superweeds here, as has happened in the US, where such weeds are causing huge and increasing problems for farmers.
Are Owen Paterson and his cronies just naive and easily taken in by sweet talking lobbyists or what?
Apart from what GM crops will do to humans,what the hell is GM pollen doing to the bees?
@ Liz Do you mean to tell me that you can believe the answers given???????
I frequently watch Cameron squirm and go bright red at question time, after questions put to him, only for him to forget, to give any answer at all in reply. Apart from abuse to the questioner.
To not answer is to lie.
Stop being a sheep, and join the wolves, before they eat you..
I know for a fact that GM crops were planted here and ripped up by green protesters.Because it was reported in the News, back in the day when we used to get actual news.