GM Foods – Don’t Hide What’s Inside

By GM Freeze: GM field trials are becoming more common in the UK. In the first few months of 2019, the John Innes Centre received permission to plant GM wheat and broccoli at their farm just outside Norwich, while Rothamsted Research received consent for “pick and mix” GM camelina trials in Hertfordshire and Suffolk. In June, the Sainsbury Laboratory was given the go-ahead to extend their field trials of GM potatoes.

GM Freeze has consistently led the opposition to open air field trials and supported hundreds of people to make their feelings known in a constructive way. Additional restrictions have been placed on trials in response to our input, which ensures that applications cannot be simply nodded through.

 

Commenting on Boris Johnson’s view that we need to be “liberated” from GM regulations, GM Freeze Director Liz O’Neill said:

“If we need to be liberated from anything, it’s the idea that technology can provide quick fixes for all of our woes.

EU rules on the use of genetic modification are essential safeguards that keep our food system responsible, fair and sustainable. As the UK prepares to go it alone we need robust GM regulation that protects people, animals and the environment; effective protection from GM contamination; and clear labelling that allows consumers to make an informed choice.”

A GM Freeze briefing on what Brexit means for genetic modification in food and farming is available at https://www.gmfreeze.org/publications/brexit-and-gm-updated/.

 

Packaging

EU rules mean that any GM ingredients in British food have to be listed on the packaging. As Britain prepares to leave the EU, we need to protect our right to make an informed choice about what we eat by fighting to keep our GM labels.

89% of people in the UK want GM products to be clearly labelled but, as we prepare to leave the EU, our right to make an informed choice about what we are buying, and eating, is under threat.

 

Many popular products like Kellogg’s cornflakes, Coca Cola and Domino’s pizzas are made with GM ingredients in the US, while a GM-free version is made for the EU market. Brexit could result in more of the UK’s food coming from outside Europe. Without GM labels we won’t be able to tell the difference.

 

Please stand with Beyond GM and GM Freeze to ensure that post-Brexit regulations Don’t Hide What’s Inside our food, by signing the petition below.

 

SIGN THE PETITION

 

 

 

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