Write to you MP - stop Government’s legally flawed ‘coexistence’ plans

Keep up the pressure on Defra and the devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to ensure they put in place strict rules that keep our food and farming free of GM contamination.

During Defra’s consultation for England on the ‘coexistence’ of GM crops with conventional and organic crops, GM Freeze, Friends of the Earth and The Soil Association obtained a legal opinion on the proposals from two leading European lawyers.  The opinion makes it very clear that Defra’s proposals are legally flawed in seven ways and therefore do not comply with EU law.

Defra’s errors mean that it is possible that future regulations based on their flawed ‘coexistence’ proposals could be open to legal challenge when they are put out for consultation.  Defra may also be forced to reconsider their whole approach which is to legalise routine GM contamination up to 0.9% in conventional and organic crops, which they intend to “achieve” by proposing very short separation distances between GM and non-GM crops.

Furthermore, Defra have also made assumptions about the GM thresholds percentages which the EU are still to agree for organic products and seeds.  Both are being hotly debated in the EU and the final decisions could be different from Defra’s guess at the outcomes.

And finally, Defra is also planning to put in place ‘coexistence’ and liability measures using a combination of voluntary codes of practice and secondary legislation. This means that Parliament will not have the opportunity to scrutinise these controversial proposals as it would if the measures were being introduced under primary legislation.

As of November 2006, the Defra proposals for coexistence have closed for public consultation, and proposals for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are still due to be published and consulted on.

Take action now – cut and paste draft letter below and click here to Write to your MP at House of Commons 


Thank you for your help.  It is crucial we educate our elected representatives about the thorny issue of GM contamination as well as ensure that Ministers are kept under pressure.

Draft Letter – feel free to amend it adding your personal concerns


Dear [MP/MSP/AM]

I am very concerned that if GM crops are grown, our right to choose GM free food and farming will be under threat. I wish to draw your attention to an important new legal opinion by leading European Law experts on Defra’s proposals on managing the coexistence of GM, conventional and organic crops, which were published in July 2006.

A summary of the opinion can be found here:

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/consultation_responses/coexistence_legal_summary.pdf

As you will see, the opinion of Paul Lasok QC and Rebecca Haynes is that Defra’s proposals are not compliant with EU law in seven important areas.  In addition, Defra have tried to anticipate the outcome of the decisions on the controversial topics of GM thresholds in organic products and in seeds sold to farmers both of which could change as a result of negotiations amongst Member States.

Please can you ask the relevant minister for their response to this legal opinion and how they propose to ensure that the final ‘coexistence’ regulations [which are still to be consulted on in Wales/Scotland/NI] are fully compliant with EU law so that consumers and farmers have a genuine choice to avoid GM in food, feed and seeds in the future and the environment and health are fully safeguarded.

I look forward to receiving your response.

Yours sincerely,