Guest guest Posted July 4, 2005 Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 Real Food News June 2005 In a nutshell Fantastic news from Europe – Environment Ministers from across Europe voted to allow five countries to maintain their bans on certain GM crops and foods (see 24 June), standing up to pressure from the European Commission and biotech companies. Unfortunately the UK sided with the GM industry and voted to overturn the bans, but this was not sufficient to prevent the vote reaching a majority. But the news from the Biosafety Protocol meeting in Canada was not so good - New Zealand and Brazil scuppered hopes for new rules to control GM crops despite over 100 countries demanding change (see 2 June, 30 May and 27 May). The negotiations aimed to bring in international rules to reduce contamination from imported GM crops and introduce full labelling. A new Friends of the Earth report, Tackling GMO Contamination, shows why tough measures are essential – download from: http://www.foei.org/publications/pdfs/contamination3.pdf. And a new online register of GM contamination incidents has been launched to give details of all known cases that have taken place worldwide – find out more here: http://www.gmcontaminationregister.org/. Meanwhile, Sainsbury's has been targeted in a week of protests about their failure to phase out the use of GM animal feed (see 10 June 2005). Supermarkets' failure to phase out GM animal feed could threaten the availability of non-GM ingredients in our food. Find out more and take action at http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/real_food/press_for_change/gm_labellin g/index.html. For reports and photos of the Sainsbury's actions see http://www.milkmonitor.co.nr/. Tesco's ever-expanding share of the grocery market was challenged at their Annual General Meeting (see 24 June), and MPs heard about the impacts of their growth on consumers and farmers worldwide (see 23 June). Friends of the Earth is calling for an immediate investigation into Tesco's monopoly position and a moratorium on mergers in the retail sector. Find out more and take action at http://www.tescopoly.org. Concerns have been raised over proposed changes to reverse reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy and slash funds used to support environmentally-friendly farming (see 31 May). A coalition of groups including Friends of the Earth have called for the proposal to be completely rejected. Thank you for your support and help with our campaigns Liz Wright Real Food & Farming Campaign Assistant ____ 24 June 2005 EU Ministers vote to keep GM food bans Environment Ministers from across Europe voted today to allow five countries to maintain bans on genetically modified (GM) crops and foods. Friends of the Earth welcomed today's vote but criticized the UK Government for once again siding with the GM industry, and voting to have the bans overturned. EU Ministers rejected proposals by the European Commission to lift the GM bans, imposed on safety grounds by Austria, Luxembourg and Germany, France and Greece. Attempts by the European Commission to overturn the bans follow a dispute over GM foods at the World Trade Organisation, where the United States claims they are a barrier to trade. UK environment minister Elliot Morley re-affirmed the current Government's pro-GM stance by insisting in media interviews this morning that he would be voting for the Commission's proposals to lift the bans. Between 1997 and 2000, the five EU countries banned a variety of GM crops on safety grounds. The stance was opposed by the European Commission who asked all EU member states to vote on proposals requiring the five countries to lift their bans within 20 days. Member states voted on this issue last November, but the results were inconclusive. Today's vote by Environment Ministers (the first on GM since 1998) is a significant shift in position across the EU against GM crops and foods. " Today's vote to allow EU countries to maintain their bans on GM food and crops, is a vote for commonsense, and a victory for European consumers, who are overwhelmingly opposed to GM food " , said Friends of the Earth's GM campaigner Emily Diamand. " But the actions of the UK today have been appalling. It is bad enough that Elliot Morley should ignore public opinion on this important issue. But it is outrageous that he should try and stop other countries saying no to GM. His actions will do nothing to improve the UK's battered reputation on this issue, or help its poor image in Europe. " ____ 24 June 2005 Tesco Taking Over High Street Tesco's growing market share is bad for British business, bad for consumers, bad for the environment and must be checked, Friends of the Earth said today (Friday 24th June), as shareholders attend the supermarket giant's annual general meeting. Friends of the Earth is calling for an immediate investigation into Tesco's monopoly position and a moratorium on mergers in the retail sector. Tesco controls nearly one third of the UK grocery market, with £1 in every £3 spent on groceries spent at Tesco. But MPs at a Friends of the Earth briefing in Westminster yesterday (Thursday) heard how its huge market share was giving it power over suppliers, which set standards for supermarket practice across the retail sector. " Supermarkets are behaving completely rationally in using their muscle in the market place " , said Andrew George MP, who hosted the briefing. " It's whether they are inappropriately using their power in the supply chain. In my opinion, the evidence shows we are well beyond the time by which some legislation is in fact required. " Friends of the Earth campaigners will be attending the AGM itself, accompanied by farmers, a banana worker and representatives from Women Working Worldwide, ActionAid and National Group on Homeworking to raise questions about the impacts of Tesco on the supply chain. Tesco boasts about its commitment to fair trade and " corporate responsibility " , but a new report from Friends of the Earth shows that Tesco's practices are putting many UK farmers out of business; while on the high street, some 2,000 independent stores went out of businesses in the last year alone, unable to compete with promotions and planning and taxation policies which favour the multiples over smaller shops. Supermarket practices are also driving climate change, the new report reveals, as the rapid growth in trade brings demand for extra transport, refrigeration, heat and light. Tesco claims to have spent £3.7 million on energy saving schemes in the last year, but failed to meet its commitment to cut emissions by 4.2 per cent. Its stores consume nearly twice as much energy as the national average. " Tesco is lauded as a British success story but the image is a deceptive one and it is beginning to tarnish " , said Friends of the Earth's Supermarket Campaigner Vicki Hird. " We want shareholders to realise that farmers and consumers are paying the price of their profits. And we want MPs to act to curb the growing market power of supermarkets and ensure that Britain's booming supermarket industry does not kill off farmers, consumer choice and the traditional British high street. " ____ 23 June 2005 Supermarket Takeover Must Be Stopped, MPs Told Britain's supermarkets are damaging British business, are bad for consumers and bad for the environment, MPs will be told today (Thursday 23rd June) at a Friends of the Earth briefing, hosted by Andrew George MP. The warning comes on the eve of the supermarket giant Tesco's AGM and follows record profits for the company. Friends of the Earth will ask MPs for action to control supermarket practices and to curb Tesco's huge market share to prevent farmers and consumers paying the price of its success. The environmental campaign group will be joined by ActionAid, the New Economics Foundation, union representatives and a UK farmer to illustrate the wide-ranging and damaging impacts of supermarket power. Tesco controls nearly one third of the UK grocery market, setting the standard across the retail sector. But while the company boasts about its commitment to fair trade and " corporate responsibility " , a new report from Friends of the Earth shows that Tesco's practices are putting many UK farmers out of business; while on the high street, some 2,000 independent stores went out of businesses in the last year alone, unable to compete with promotions and planning and taxation policies which favour the multiples over smaller shops. " Tesco is lauded as a British success story but the image is a deceptive one and it is beginning to tarnish " , said Friends of the Earths' Supermarket Campaigner Vicki Hird. " Farmers and consumers are paying the price of its uncontrolled expansion here and overseas. MPs must act now to curb the growing market power of supermarkets and ensure that Britain's booming supermarket industry does not kill off farmers, consumer choice and the traditional British high street. " Supermarket practices are also driving climate change, the new report claims, as the rapid growth in trade brings demand for extra transport, refrigeration, heat and light. Tesco claims to have spent £3.7 million on energy saving schemes in the last year, but failed to meet its commitment to cut emissions by 4.2 per cent. Its stores consume nearly two times more energy than the national average. While Tesco has signed up to the Ethical Trading Initiative, it has also been active in promoting banana price wars leaving many banana workers with less than a living wage. It has also refused to join the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil, despite palm oil being found in more than 1,000 products that Tesco sells. Friends of the Earth is calling for an immediate investigation into Tesco's monopoly position and a stricter code of practice, enforced by an independent regulator, for all supermarkets to ensure suppliers are treated fairly. Friends of the Earth is also calling for corporate accountability legislation to be introduced to make UK companies responsible for their impacts on communities and the environment worldwide. ____ 10 June 2005 Sainsbury's Targeted in Week of GM Protest Sainsbury's staff at the company's London headquarters will be greeted by a series of anti-GM demonstrations next week (13-17 June) as part of a Europe-wide action against GM. Campaigners, accompanied by Brazilian dancers, a samba band and pantomime cows, will highlight how the company is continuing to use GM-fed milk and meat. Former Environment Minister Michael Meacher will attend Thursday's demonstration. Five years ago Sainsbury's promised to phase out GM feed from the diets of the herds that produce their dairy products. So far they have failed to do so. The public is largely unaware of the presence of imported GM crops in the food chain because meat, milk and other products from animals fed GM feed are not labelled. Supermarkets' failure to phase out GM animal feed could now threaten the availability of non-GM ingredients in our food. Until now, Brazil has been the main source of non-GM soya. But the Brazilian Government has just given approval for GM soya to be grown and there is a risk that non-GM soya for food and feed, could disappear. Most soya is grown for animal feed but is also used in food for human consumption, including many processed foods, like ready meals, biscuits and chocolate. " This protest demonstrates that a broad spectrum of the public, from farmers to customers, want GM out of the food chain " , said Liz Snook of the Genetic Engineering Network. " Sainsbury's are in a position to deliver on their promise and stop selling GM-fed milk and meat. We hope they will listen to their customers' concerns and set a date by which they will get rid of GM animal feed, once and for all. " " Customers will be concerned that Sainsbury's has failed to make good their promises to get rid of GM animal feed " , said Friends of the Earth's GM Campaigner Clare Oxborrow. " The big supermarkets must act now to demand non-GM animal feed from their suppliers. If they don't, not only will they continue to deny consumers the right to choose food products from animals fed a non-GM diet, but they will threaten the availability of GM-free food ingredients in the future. " The protesters will raise the profile of the problem with the following series of events: Monday 13th - Ladies from the Women's Institute will knit banners, hand out milk and biscuits, expressing concern about the lack of labelling for milk from GM-fed cows. Tues 14th - A Samba band will accompany dancers in chocolate regalia in a demonstration of solidarity with Brazilian farmers, who are threatened by new legislation allowing the cultivation of GM soya in the country. Wednesday 15th - Farmers, and a herd of pantomime cows, will point out the lack of liability legislation for GM crops and food. They will also remind Sainsbury's that poverty milk prices are stopping farmers making the choices they would like to about their animal feed, and causing 40 UK farms a week to go out of business. Thursday 16th- Former Environment Minister Michael Meacher, who oversaw the Government's GM crop trials, will be giving his unique inside insight into the regulatory problems associated with GM. Friday 17th - Mums, dads, babies and kids will point out the long term safety concerns expressed by many families, and demand that milk from non-GM fed cows should be available as standard. ____ 2 June 2005 Illegal GM Maize Found in Japanese Imports as international talks on the safety of GM crops reach crucial stage. Unapproved genetically modified (GM) maize, originating from the United States, has been found in shipments arriving in Japan, according to reports. The contamination incident comes as key United Nations negotiations in Montreal, Canada, reach a crucial point in agreeing regulations for a safe trade in GM foods and crops. Japanese officials said that a shipment of corn from the US was found to be contaminated by an illegal experimental GM maize, called Bt10. The Swiss-based biotech company, Syngenta, admitted in March that it had mistakenly sold the wrong maize to farmers in the US for the last four years. The EU introduced emergency measures to stop shipments of contaminated corn-based animal feeds in April and last week a contaminated shipment was detected and blocked in Ireland. Japan, the biggest importer of US maize, said that they will now test every shipment for illegal contamination. Trade sources claimed that the shipment is likely to be sent back to the US, at Syngenta's expense. In Montreal, UN negotiations on the Biosafety Protocol, are discussing the issue of the export of GM crops that are not licensed in the importing country. The talks are at a critical stage with a small number of countries - New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico and Peru - holding up progress that would reduce contamination from GM crops. An agreement is expected in the next 24 hours, despite the huge lobbying by the GM industry for weaker rules. " The biotech industry clearly needs to be brought under control " , said Friends of the Earth's GM Campaigner Clare Oxborrow. " Every new contamination incident highlights the urgent need for strong international laws. Unless we have strict controls then the contamination of our foods will continue and our environment will be put at risk. The Biosafety Protocol negotiations taking place in Montreal are key to solving these problems. " On Monday, Friends of the Earth International released a report showing that tougher measures are needed to prevent contamination from GM crops. ____ 31 May 2005 U-turn on CAP reform will stop farmers from going green A coalition of organisations is describing the Luxemburg presidency's proposal, which recommends cutting rural funds by one-fifth, as outrageous. The groups (Friends of the Earth Europe, BirdLife International, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, Eurogroup for Animal Welfare, European Environmental Bureau) are calling on EU decision makers not only to safeguard, but also to increase rural development funds when they meet in June. The coalition wants the presidency's proposal, which would effectively reverse the 2003 reform of EU's common agricultural policy, to be rejected by the Council. " Just when we thought things were looking up for Britain's wildlife, landscape and farmers, proposals have been made to slash the funds helping farmers to go green and develop local food schemes " , said Friends of the Earth's Senior Campaigner on food and farming, Vicki Hird. " The Luxembourg proposal would rob money from the green farming budget to allow payment of direct subsidies to all farms. This is a totally backward move - agricultural policy was, albeit slowly, being reformed and the money was being shifted to allow farmers to be supported for the environmental protection and enhancement work they carry out. It was also beginning to help pay for rural development and local food enterprises. The UK Government has claimed that it wants to make UK farming PLC greener and to get local food back onto the public plate. They must reject this proposal totally and support moves to shift an even greater proportion of the CAP budget into the kind of farming and food systems t! he public want and need. " In the attempt to find an agreement on the EU budget for 2007-2013, the presidency has proposed to axe up to 22% of the rural development subsidies that help support environmentally friendly practices, like organic farming, and other methods that help preserve wildlife and improve animal welfare. The proposal, which was issued on 19 May, would retain the lion's share of direct subsidies which have benefited the bigger, wealthier farmers at the expense of a small but critical budget for sustaining the livelihoods of smaller farmers and rural areas across Europe. The 2003 CAP reform deal in Luxembourg shifted some funds from the first pillar to the second pillar. Only two years later, the Luxembourg presidency wants to do the very opposite: severely cut the second pillar, while keeping the first pillar intact. " This irrational proposal goes against the spirit of EU agricultural policy reform, which established the need for more money for sustainable farming " , said Giovanna Pisano from BirdLife International. " If it is agreed, it will be a very sad day for rural Europe. We cannot jeopardise measures that are fundamental to sustainable agriculture and rural development. " ____ 30 May 2005 New Report Shows Risk of GM Contamination Tougher measures are needed to prevent contamination of conventional food by genetically modified organisms (GMO), a new report from Friends of the Earth International concludes today. The report was distributed by campaigners in decontamination suits in Montreal at the start of key international negotiations on the trade in genetically modified crops. The EU impoundment last week of a shipment of illegal US GM maize highlights the urgency of these talks to address the issue of contamination. Key to the talks will be a decision to label shipments if they contain GM products, a move opposed by the main GMO-producing countries. The Friends of the Earth report, /Tackling GMO Contamination /makes a series of practical recommendations relevant to the Protocol discussions, including: • Clear labelling of all shipments that contain GM products • The right of countries to stop imports of illegal GMOs • The need to make the biotech industry liable for GM pollution The report also highlights that: • 84% of the area cultivated with GM crops is in just 2 countries - United States and Argentina. • There are already systems to separate crops that could be expanded in North America and other GMO producing countries to aggressively keep GM away from non-GM products. • The world's leading GMO company, Monsanto, spends millions of dollars on a monitoring and testing programme not for safety reasons - but to protect its own patents. " These talks are key to protecting the environment and the world's food supply from GM contamination " , said Juan Lopez, Co-ordinator of Friends of the Earth's International Programme on Genetic Engineering. " Most countries growing GM crops on a large scale have not even signed up to the Biosafety protocol, yet they will be at the talks lobbying for weak controls on their products. " More than 110 countries have signed the United Nations Biosafety Protocol, agreed in 2000 and will be participating in the talks. ____ 27 May 2005 International Talks Must Demand Stricter GM Controls Key international negotiations on the trade in genetically modified crops (GMOs) start on Monday 30th May in Montreal, Canada. The talks come just days after the European Union impounded a shipment of illegal GM maize originating from the United States. A `decontamination team' from Friends of the Earth International, the world's largest grassroots environmental network, will welcome the delegates on Monday. More than 110 countries will meet as parties to the United Nations Biosafety Protocol, agreed in 2000. The meeting is already steeped in controversy as Canada has refused visas for several delegates from the developing world. Friends of the Earth International's `decontamination team' will be demanding tough international measures to prevent accidental GM contamination of the food chain in order to protect the public and the environment worldwide. Its demonstration on Monday will be accompanied by the release of a new report, Tackling GMO contamination. " It is vital that these talks focus on protecting citizens worldwide from the threat of unwanted GMO contamination, rather than promoting the interests of GMO producing countries and biotechnology companies " , said Juan Lopez, Co-ordinator of Friends of the Earth's International Programme on Genetic Engineering. " The international community must come together and force the few countries that grow these crops to put in place effective containment measures to stop the contamination of the rest of the world's food supply and our environment. " http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/food_and_biotechnology --- - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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