May 24, 2000 / PA News / Amanda Brown, Environment Correspondent
Greenpeace was cited as claiming today that between 5% and 15% of the European maize crop planted this year is contaminated with genetically modified organisms, and they immediately called on the government to identify, contain and destroy all contaminated crops and seeds.
The story says that the latest row over GMOs follows the disclosure that on May 22 and 23 the European Seed Association sent faxed copies of a letter about GM contamination to a variety of public bodies, including the European Commission, EU governments and MEPs on the Agriculture and Environment Committees of the European Parliament.
In this letter there is a two line reference to a problem with the European maize crop.
Greenpeace was cited as saying they understood that for the maize seed planted this year, a total crop area of up to 975,000 hectares across the EU is affected.
There was also a lesser degree of contamination of the 1999 planting of maize in Europe and illegal GMOs entered the food chain as a result.
UK and European Commission officials have been meeting with the seed industry to try to establish voluntary rules that would allow up to 1% of any batch of seeds to be GM contaminated.
At present, the story says, European rules allow zero contamination of GM seeds.
Greenpeace said by changing these rules widespread commercial growing of GM would be given official blessing, in contravention of clear government promises to the contrary.
Greenpeace campaigner Charlie Kronick was quoted as saying, "This is a monumental breach of public trust. In the face of a major GM outbreak that will affect farmers, consumers and the environment, the Government have turned for support to the very GM industry that caused the problem. They handed them what they have always wanted: permission to pollute. The government should immediately stop plotting with industry about how to allow contamination and instead act to eliminate the pollution."
Shadow agriculture minister Tim Yeo was quoted as urging Agriculture Minister Nick Brown to give some "honest answers" to the latest claims that GM contaminated maize seed has inadvertently been planted over hundreds of thousands of hectares of EU farmland and that he was "deeply concerned" about the revelation.
(posted without permission)
